Transfomers: Prime Effect
by Rumbling Night Cutter
Summary: As the Ark and Nemesis loose control and fall into the Space Bridge, both factions are scattered about a faraway galaxy instead of landing on our simple Earth. And that is how they remain for millions of years, until a ship called the Normandy finds one... and that action wakes them all up. The Reapers are coming... but the Cybertronians are already here.
1. A Smooth Introduction

**Why? Why do I do this to myself. I just have chronic Story Starting disorder or something. *sigh* anyway! as fro what your actually here for. Transformers and Mass Effect!**

 **To be clear, Shepard will look like the default Shep. It works just fine in my opinion. He is a Spacer, and war-hero, and paragon. Then there will be the matter of the Transformers. For the most part, the Autobots will look like their FOC incarnations, with the exception of Bee and Optimus. Bee will have his AOE body, but a cybertronian v-mode. Optimus will start as FOC, but he will be getting a new body (shocker... Not) quite early on. For his new vehicle mode, look up 'Optimus Prime BFTE'. I will be using that vehicle mode, because it looks very ME-style, but his 'bot form will be different. As for the ones who didn't appear in the games (Arcee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen) they will have their Prime personas, but more cybertronian bodies and alt. modes. And as for Megs, he had his Prime Body though he will start out as FOC.**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

Cybertron... Once a peaceful world of synthetic organisms. For eons the metallic giants lived in peace, thriving in a golden age... Now it's an apocalyptic metallic wasteland filled with corpses and nightmare-creatures that'll eat your soul. No wonder the occupants left.

Said occupants were transforming robotic organisms of two factions: the Autobots, and the Decepticons. As the 'Bot's made their last bid for freedom, an unstable Space Bridge above their planet, they were hounded upon by their eternal enemies.

The battle raged across the Ark, each victory one side gained was almost instantly countered by the enemy. And all of hit had culminated into a confrontation with the factions' two leaders: Optimus Prime, and Megatron.

The Autobot leader slashed upwards with his sword, sending the malicious warlord flying back. After advancing, he lifted his blade into the air, and sunk it deep into Megetron's chest. The Decepticon roared in pain, and Optimus prepared to end his eon-old enemy.

But then the ship began to shake. A mighty wave of energy threw the warriors off their feet. As they regained their bearings, the pull of gravity began to increase,and both great leaders fell to the ground.

After getting up, Megatron was the first to realize what was happening. "No!" He yelled. "The portal!"

The Prime quickly caught on. "The vortex is TEARING THE SHIP APART!" He yelled as he struggled to be heard over the sound of destruction around him. They tried to claw their way back up the golden hull, but debris swirled around them.

In an act of desperation to take his enemy with him, Megatron grabbed at the bot in front of him, but Optimus kicked the 'Con away, nearly knocking him into the emptiness of space.

The Warlord began to fall back, but fragranced his grip as he seethed with fury, his servos powered by hate and Dark Energon. "NO!" He shouted in rage, desperate to end the enemy he had battled for millennia. " _I WILL NOT BE DENIED_!"

The Autobot leader twisted, his arm shifting into his heavily modified Path Blaster. "Megetron..." He growled, and took aim. "Begone!" With that, he fired, hitting the warlord directly. The leader of the Decepticons was tossed form the hull of the Ark, and into the void.

The knockback of his weapon had been the last straw for Optimus's grip, though, and for a moment, both leaders hung, suspended in space, as did their ships, both pairs no longer fighting, but falling into the unknown.

At once, every crew member if either faction was ripped from their place on the ships. Ratchet, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Arcee, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Dreadwing, Soundwave, Knock Out, Breakdown, the Combaticons, Constructicons, Arialbots, vehicons, seekers, soldiers of all class and description, even the stowaway Starscream all hung suspended between the waring vessels for half a moment as nearly their entire species vanished into the physics-defying circle in space.

As the ships vanished into the Space Bridge, it exploded, the wave of energy rippling across the empty space, until only a outline of the portal made of wisps of energy remained above the dead world below.

And for centuries, there was silence.

* * *

" _My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and I send this message to the stars, in hopes more of our race shall find it._

 _We made it through the portal. But not without cost. The Ark and many of her crew are dead, and the survivors are scattered to the cosmos. This galaxy is now polluted with the stasis-locked bodies of both Autobot, and Decepticon._

 _I do not know where I am, or if the planet I am on is inhabited. The transit has damaged me severely. Even know, I feel stasis creeping in. If any Autobots hear this message, I want you to continue the fight. If Megatron or the Decepticons still function, it is I parities that they are not allowed to plunder worlds the way he did ours._

 _I do not know if I shall ever awaken again. If so, I impart command over our forces to Ultra Magnus, or, in the case of his demise, Autobot Ratchet. Good luck my friends._

 _And to any of my brethren who find themselves lost and alone, I tell you only one thing: an Autobot is never alone. Find allies... Find friends. And beyond all else... Find each other._

 _May Primus guide you all..."_

These words echoed across a barren world as a dust storm raged across the landscape. It was muffled under a mound of sand, but the voice was projected nevertheless. One could see bits of things poking out of the dunes.

Parts of what looked to be buried Cybertronians.

Sudenly one of the dunes started moving. Dust shifted off of it, and revealed a large pod. Connected to it were numerous pods of similar size, all looking like they had been degraded by time.

Suddenly a deep voice rang out from the pods. It was the voice of the Cybertronian Defense Network, Teletraan 1.

"Warning: emergency power depleted. Sparklings at risk. Preparing expulsion." The pods began to hum, and lines of light powered by Energon appeared on them. From behind the glass of the first pod to be revealed, a pair of bright blue optics glowed.

* * *

Around the same time as that, there were big thins happening in space.

In a galaxy inhabited by many species, a war was closing in. On one side were the organic beings of that little part of the cosmos. Turians, Asari, Salarian, Krogan, human, the like. They didn't know they were on the same side in a war, but they were.

On the other side were the Geth, a race of synthetic beings far different than the Cybertronians. Much less advanced... But still dangerous all the same. They had started with the humans, terrorizing the paradise-esq. world of Eden Prime. Ironically, they were lead by an organic: Saren, a Turian and a Spectere.

Specteres were special forces agents recruited by the collective government of the galaxy. They were above the law, free to do their duties without obstruction or consequences. And that was what let Saren go rouge so easily. They didn't accept his treachery until it was too late.

In response, they had sent a new Spectere after him: a human called Commander Shepard, the first one of his species. He had been issued the Normandy, one of the most advanced shops belonging to the humans, and recruited a squad if specialists for his cause. And thus, they had been sent on their mission.

That had been months before. All was well aboard the Normandy as she soared away from her latest mission, an odd mission on a colony called Zu's Hop, where the colonists had been controlled by an ancient plant monster called the Thorian. Yes, it was just as weird and disturbing as it sounded.

After some words with each-other and the council, the Ground Squad disbanded, going off to their usual antics aboard the Alliance vessel. Commander Shepard sighed as he went to take off his armor and deposit it in the armory, exchanging it with the far more comfortable Alliance uniform.

He made his way to the CIC, and in front of the Galaxy Map. "Everything's all clear down here, Commander," the XO, Navigator Pressly, told him casually as he past. Shepard nodded at him in return, and leaned over the Map in hopes to find a new target for their mission.

He sighed, and shook his head. "Commander?" The voice of the Flight Officer, Joker, said over the comm.

Shepard looked at the comm with a deadpan look. "Let me guess, Hackett?"

"Hackett."

Admiral Hackett was a high-ranking officer in the Alliance. Highly decorated and respected, the man was right up there with David Anderson in Shepard's personal opinion. However, he had a bad habit of calling on Shepard when there was a problem too far away to do it personally.

The spacer shook his head in weariness. He was tired from the antics at Zu's hope, and would like nothing more than a good amount of hours in his quarters, sleeping off the headache the Thorian and the Asari had given him. But it looked like that wouldn't be the case.

"Put him through." He commanded, and and Joker complied. Sure enough, the Galaxy Map was soon replaced by an image of the old and weathered soldier himself.

"What can I do for you, Admiral," Shpard said not unkindly. He crossed his arms and waited for an answer. The old man sighed and shook his head, as if tired of calling the same channel yet again.

"Commander," he began formally. "I'm sorry to interrupt your mission yet again, but the Council told me to inform you that there was a distress signal in the form of a message intercepted from your position."

"Is it alliance?"

"No," the Admiral shook his head. "The reason they wanted you to investigated it was that its... Ancient. Nearly as old as the Protheans, but completely unlike anything we've recovered from their ruins."

A look of confusion crossed the commander's faced. "Old as the Protheans... But not Prothean? Liara told me that they were theorized to be the only spaceborn race when they were alive."

"Obviously she was wrong." Admiral Hackett responded. "We've analyzed it over and over, and the only conclusive thing we've come up with was that its old and definitely not from them. For one thing, it had a translator. Every species we've let hear it has said it was their own native language."

'Joy...' Shepard thought as he considered the implications. 'Another thing to tell Liara she was wrong about... Let's just hope this isn't another thing that will try to kill everything. ' The commander sighed wearily. "Any chance _we_ can hear it?" He asked.

Hackett nodded, and ordered someone off camera to play the transmission.

A static sound filled the CIC. However, something about the voice that came next instantly caught everyone present's attention. Every technician, every soldier, stopped what they were doing to listen.

"[Static] This is Optimus Prime le[Static] Autobots. [Static] we made it [Static]-ot without cost. The Ark, and many of her crew are dead." The present crew was mesmerized. The voice was clearly that of an old soldier who had seen acres worth of carnage. But he sounded kind and fatherly at the same time. The voice didn't demand respect, but very convincingly asked for it.

There was a large burst of garbled material that sounded like multiple transmissions had been tangled with the distress call. Voices calling out strange names. Names in concern, like 'Bumblebee' or some in fear, like 'Bruticus'.

Finally, the original voice resumed. "... Megatron [Static] plunder worlds..." There was a big burst of static again, before the voice came back again, stronger than before, as if this were the most vital part of the message. "... Never alone. Find allies... Find friends... And above all... Find each other... May Primus guide you all." With that, the call fizzed out.

Shepard swallowed. He had no idea who or what he had just heard, but he felt compelled to answer the call for help that... Optimus Prime's voice had clearly carried. He was hurt... Or dying.

Suddenly he shook his head. If that call was as old as the Prothean becon, Optimus Prime was long since dead, even if he had survived his wounds...

That didn't mean that it wasn't worth taking a look at what he left behind. If whatever he had could make a signal that lasted this long, then there could be something useful down there.

"I... Take it you'll help?" Hackett asked as the message ended.

Shepard nodded silently. It had certainly piqued the soldier's interests, and he leaned against the Galaxy Map's railing expectantly. "Where did the call come from again?"

* * *

Not a while after that call, the Normany burst from the Mass Relay near a planet called Civitates in Pulverem.

It was an uninhabited world. The dual suns, a scientific phenomena, made the planet much too hot to live on, and frankly, no one wanted it. The place was devoid of any life, plant or animal. A person could only go a few minuets unprotected on the surface without being burned to a crisp.

The Normandy didn't stay long, only long enough to drop the six-wheeled armored transport called the Mako from the cargo bay.

"This place sucks." Wrex boomed from the rear part of the armored transport as they landed. He had taken the Krogan, Tali, and Garrus with him for this op. Wrex for the muscle, Tali to examine and gather anything salvageable, and Garrus to watch his back as they secured the areas they searched. All of them were earring full-body armor that would shield them and keep the insides of their suits at survivable levels. But not comfortable levels. "And I come from Tuchunka."

There was literally NOTHING but dust in the desert around them. A plain of cracked ground that was perfectly flat in all directions, save for a few mountains of dust left over from the storms. Above them, two suns were high in the sky, mercilessly beating down on the land with heat.

"No kidding, I'm going to need new moisture filters by the time this mission is over," Tali agreed with disgust, already sounding like she was suffering from the heat inside that stuffy helmet of hers. Across from her, Garrus looked equally perturbed, but was silent. The Turian just fiddled with his rifle and kept silent.

Shepard just grimaced, and put the Mako into drive, the clumsy transport shaking and bouncing its way along. "Shepard, I hope whatever is here is worth it... Otheriwsise you'll be stuck in a small metal container with three very angry aliens." Garrus finally said, though his tone suggested he was only joking.

"I'll keep that in mind, Vakarian," the commander said dismissively. "We'll just follow the signal to the point of origin, and see what's there. Then we can get off this planet and go back to the nice, air-conditioned Normandy."

Though his face was covered, you could tell that Wrex was smirking. "Ha, look at you all. Complaining about the heat. Your worse than hatchlings, you lot."

"I don't remember you being so cheery about the climate," Tali said scathingly, glowing eyes narrowing into a brutal scowl behind the visor.

That just made the reptilian alien laugh. "You thought I meant the heat? Naw, it's just that there's nothing out here to fight. No prey, no enemies... Not even any Slalarians to pick on. It's just rocks and sand... I knew this mission was gonna be boring." He groaned. Suddenly the Mako lurched as it swerved sideways, throwing its passengers left and right.

The Krogan growled, and tossed a glare at the commander. "Dammit Shepard, drive straight or take some classes!"

"Why don't you try driving this thing, you overgrown bag of scales," the human retorted. "See how well you manage to keep it in a straight... Line..." He trailed off as he saw something moving in the distance.

Tali was the next to see it. There was a bipedal form walking in the distance. It was about human size, but... Oddly shaped, as if they were wearing an obscene amount of armor. It was trekking through the dunes quite quickly, as if unfatiuged by the heat.

"Ok," Garrus said, starring at where it had been. "Please tell me you guys saw that too."

Tali and Wrex nodded, but Shepard was silent.

The big Krogan Battlemaster held his shotgun eagerly, hoping for blood. "Maybe this op won't be so boring after all," he said, a grin in his voice. He began shifting in his too-small seat, obviously wanting to take on whatever the figure had been.

"Do you ever not think about killing every new thing you come across?" Tali questioned, a little annoyed with how quickly Wrex equated "Unknown" to "Target Practice". The Krogan tilted his head at her. "No?" He said hesitantly, as if she had asked a really, really stupid question. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but couldn't help squirming as well.

She was a bit excited about this. That "Optimus Prime" person had something that could transmit a signal, albeit a damaged and faded one, for nearly fifty thousand years. Maybe there was something here that she could use for her Pilgrimage, or to make into something to help stop Saren... Or any number of things. She wrung her three-fingered hands to keep them from going crazy.

Garrus, for one, didn't seem to care. He had his hands folded neatly on his lap as the Mako jerked and swayed across the land, and didn't flinch at Wrex's occasional curses and threats to flay Shepard alive and find whoever had authorized the commander to drive a Mako, and do unspeakable things to that person.

Shapard was lost in his own thoughts again. Something about Prime's voice had reminded him of himself. The exhaustion from years and years of combat, the tone he addressed the people he was calling to in.

'Too bad he's dead,' the commander thought. 'If he was alive, I might finally have some like minded-WOAH!" He said that last part aloud because he had to swerve to avoid something that had been behind a dune he was going around.

The Mako spun out of control tossing its occupants about so hard Wrex's scales went from yellowish to a subtle green, and Tali's faceplate was nearly cracked. Garrus was flat on the floor, and Shepard's fists were white from gripping the controls so tightly.

Thats when Wrex lost it. "That's it Shepard!" He bellowed. "From now on, I'm driving!" He pointed one stubby thumb at himself, and growled. "Why'd you even do that!"

Without speaking, Sheapard pointed to the view screen in front of him. The Krogan looked at it, studying the image. Half out of the dune was... A white car? But not one of Eath origin. It had burns and scratches on it that suggested battle, and advanced looking wheels. The car was painted white and blue, with exposed red headlights and a red symbol on the hood. There was no visible windshield, only blue armored plating where it would be.

Subtly, it reminded Shepard of some old Vids of races his dad had shown him as a kid... NISCAR or something. "... Oh." Wrex said.

They exited the Mako cautiously, keeping their eyes on the strange vehicle. For all they knew it could be Geth, or worse. Not wanting to take any chances, Wrex and Garrus kept their guns trained on the thing.

Tali crept forwards, not wanting to spring an automatic defense. She studied the machine with glowing eyes, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. After a few seconds, Wrex just lowered his weapon.

"It's just an empty transport," he said, exasperated. "We should find what that thing was in the distance. We need answers, and if we're lucky, we'll get a fight." Tali dismissed him, and kept approaching the vehicle.

She felt drawn to it, almost like she would be to an interesting new person. She laid a gloved hand on the hood, fingers trailing the metal. Her heart kept beating faster and faster in her ears.

It was like when she had seen a Geth for the first time. The machine had both terrified and fascinated her. The most advanced combat drones she had divined hadn't come close to the complexity of a Geth. Her first reaction had been... Awe, curiosity... Wonder. That a machine could become autonomous. Over time, that wonder hand been poisoned by the evil things she had seen the Geth due. Invading planets, manufacturing the Husks with their barbaric spikes, but that still didn't change what she had felt upon seeing her first living machine.

The feeling had welled inside of her, like it was doing now. She wanted to understand this thing, to know why it was what it was. Shepard seemed to sense it to, and got closer. "Tali," he said, reaching a tentative hand towards her, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know..." She said, her hand nearing the symbol. "I just... It's..." Her blood pounded in her ears as her suits systems picked up steady signals coming from the car's hood. At first, it sounded like machine feedback, and some type of odd language, but soon enough the chatter had translated to Khelish in her helmet.

 _"See? Under control, baby."_

 _"I got yo' back, Orion!"_

 _"You ready Cliffjumper?"_

 _"I see you- seein' me."_

 _"Jetfire! If your done playin' nursemaid, I could use your help right about now!"_

"It's dreaming..." She murmured quietly.

Garrus scoffed. "Impossible," he said. "It's just a transport, not a living thing." He turned in the direction they had seen the figure go. "Come on, Tali." He turned to go, but noticed that the Quarian didn't react. "Tali?" He questioned.

The small mechanic was still as a stone, her finger hovering over the symbol on the hood. Sen swallowed as steady transmissions continued to stream from it, getting stronger. They were barely able to reach Tali, who was closest, but they were enough as that voice kept saying things over and over.

 _"How long have I been in this rusthole anyway?"_

 _"Who! I know OP wouldst leave us to rust!"_

 _"Cliff, you do know you have a cloaker, right?"_

 _"Grimlock..."_

 _"You mean loud and unnecessary?"_

 _"SIDESWIPE!"_

 _"That is a_ very _good question."_

Suddenly the signals changed from words to a ringing that echoed inside her helmet. She flinched, and her had jerked downwards, slamming onto the symbol on the hood. A jolt of energy went from the battery of her suit, through her arm, and onto the symbol. At once, it began to glow red, as did multiple other parts of the body.

* * *

Across the planet, a change happened. The activation had sent out a signal that bounced off each Cybertronian it came into contact with. It was a walke-up call.

Miles away, a group of metallic humanoids all turned in the direction of the situation, as if instinctually sensing something.

In another part of the desert, dune with a large white and red robot partially laying out of it suddenly spluttered to life, his optics opening with a sudden jolt. Miles away a yellow form stirred in the ruins of an old ship.

And not far away from the group, another Autobot sprang back to life. He was a larger bot by the name of Hound. He had green paint, and resembeled a fat, bearded earth soldier. He stumbled to his feet, disorientated, and groaning.

"Urrrrgghh..." He moaned. "Oh, where the hell am I?" He said, raddjusting his cap and stumbling. He scanned the ground real quick. "This is one mess of a shitsack." He cursed, and began to move in the direction of the nearest signal he could dectect.

Suddenly a new one came online behind him. He turned, and jumped when he saw a grey and red hand laced with puprple light shoot out of one of the dunes. Hound stumbled backwards, arming himself as one of his hand transformed into a Riot Cannon. "Oi! Oi, who are you!"

"I..." A raspy voice said. Hound began backing up in fear as dust began to fall of the Cybertronian. He had dull grey armor, with crule spikes and sharp edges. His body glowed with Dark Energon. A large fusion cannon was mounted on his arm. "Am..." He continued, his optics opening slowly, revealing them to be glowing red.

Hound wallowed and backed up.

"... Megatron!" He finished, and aimed his fusion cannon at the Autobot. He fired, and hound quickly transformed into an armored transport, backing up quickly. "Woah, shit!" He yelled, transforming back.

"Ok, you wanna go, 'Con!?" He pounded a fist into his palm. "I'm a Wreaker! And when I'm finished, you-"

"Will be standing over your lifeless corpse." Megatron finished for him, transforming into a Cybertronian tank. He shot forwards, and Hound fired. The Energon bounced uselessly off Megatron's reinforced hull, so it was useless. The cannon in the tank fired , and Hound only barely managed to dodge. The explosion sent him flying, and the fat Autobot struggled to get up. When he did, he found Megatron's tank form smacking into him and knocking him off his feet. The warlord transformed with his foot on Hound's face, the Wreacker's hat clattering away.

He looked up in time to see Megetron's mace forming in his hands, and the world went dark as the weapon went down.

* * *

The squad stumbled backwards, raising their guns at the vehicle, which suddenly whirled to life. The engine roared loudly, and he wheels began spinning at astonishing speeds, freeing itself from the dune in nearly less than a second. The vehicle was revealed to have a very streamlined appearance, obviously meant for speed.

But that wasn't what made the assorted aliens nearly fire from shock. As soon as it was free, it skidded around in a circle to face them. Without warning, the chassis began to split apart, parts shifting around and re-arranging themselves on their own. The wheels, still spinning, made sparks go flying as they grinned against the years of filth that covered them. Hands and a head made their appearance as the car continued to transform onto a masculine figure with the good of the car for his chest. He had no eyes, just a broad blue visor, and a mouth under it that quickly astonishingly twisted into a laid-back half smile.

He looked at them, his expression unreadable. And then... He coughed. "Urgh, testing... Testing... You organics understandin' this?" His voice was deep and smooth, not unlike the jazz players Shepard had seen in ancient Vids.

The being stood taller than any of them by far, almost two stories high. Shepard was certain that it could easily disable the Mako without weapons, but he held up his assault rifle up to level with the new, obviously synthetic being's visor.

When the 'bot saw this, his expression turned from relaxed to alarmed. Quickly he held up his hands in a form of surrender. "Woa now, brother. No need for that!"

Everyone, even Wrex was surprised at that. Wrex had been less surprised and more battle ready, but hearing a machine sound so organic so... Young, was like a giant hammer to the face for the Krogan.

When Shepard and the others didn't lower their weapons, his face morphed into distrust. "Now I trust we ain't gonna have to get all nasty with each otha'. I mean we're all sapient creatures here, no need for violence. I'm just a... Well, I'm a big guy made a' metal." He frowned and looked at himself, then them. "That doesn't help does it?"

Shepard shook his head. The robot grimaced, and knelt down, hands in front of him. "Dude, I've been in stasis for a good long while. Your friend over there just brought me out. I was able to sense her suits power scource and draw on it a little, just enough to get me kickin' again, no worries." He laid a hand on his torso, and raised the other one, as if reciting a pledge. "'Bot's honor."

Tali tried to calm down. It was like facing a giant Geth... One that certainly didn't act like a Geth, though. It... His first action had been to try and stop hostilities. The Geth they had been facing would have just shot them, no questions asked. But no matter how hard she tried to rationalize it, the white and blue robot was bringing back every memory of Geth slaughter she had been taught and experienced.

She swallowed, and raised her gun to.

The robot seemed at a loss, finally. He looked at the four in front if him with a pained expression. "Well then, it seems you've forced me to do somethin' I really don' wanna.

The bot stood and... Cleared his throat? "Erm... How did old Rust-butt say it? Oh yeah. _Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong,_ " He tried with a hopeful smile, making a series of absurd hand gestures that was impossible to take seriously.

There was silence in the air for a moment as the four looked at him, not quite knowing how to respond to that. They stared at each-other for a minuet, until one sound was heard.

A snigger. Garrus was sniggering, his shoulders shaking slightly and his mandibles vibrating as he tried to hold it in. Caught off-guard, Wrex chuckled, which made Tali start giggling, and Shepard tried to fight down a burst of laughter. Eventually everyone lost their battle and dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Shepard managed as he hugged his sides.

The Krogan and Turian were still shaking with mirth behind him, and Tali had her hands over her speech-light, trying not to loose it completely. Never, not once in her life, had she expected something so ridiculous to come out of a synthetic, especially one such as the giant white mech in front of her.

The robot rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, embarrassed. "It's _supposed_ to be a Universal Greeting. Apparently it's just an only drill Sergeant wanting to see his cadets make fools of themselves." He said good-naturedly.

When they calmed down they looked up at the giant bot, who just raised his hands peafully. "Look, ya'll. I'm Jazz," he knelt again, and offered a large hand to them, which none of them really quite knew what to do with.

Seeing this, he retracted the limb awkwardly. "I can see there's some issues here, but what do ya say we act like calm, rational beings and see where we stand before we go puttin' holes in each other."

Shepard blinked. This was a first for him. He enountered something big, new, and possibly quite powerful... And he wanted a chat. 'Jazz' looked at them all with a grin, and shifted to face Tali. The small Quarian froze, but didn't make any other movement. Momentarily afraid that he would hurt her, Shepard started forwards, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Garrus. The blue-painted Turian shook his head with a look that said 'don't piss off the big thing made of metal'. Shepard scowled, but nodded, and turned back around to see what was happening.

"I owe ya my life 'gal." Jazz said, smiling. "If you guys hadn't a' come along when ya did, I mighta entered permanent stasis." Tali herself was a bit frozen as the giant mech kneeled in front of her.

She studied him for a moment, her yes scanning him from visor to heel-strut. "You don't have any affiliation with the Geth, do you?" She asked hesitantly. At this point, she knew it was a stupid question, but she had to ask.

"Geth?" Jazz asked, confused. He shook his head, still smiling. The genuine surprise in his voice calmed the group a little. This wasn't any Geth, or other simple synthetic they were facing. There was something... Alive about him

"What's a... Geth?" He continued, scratching the top of his head. "I'm an... Auto... Bot..." He trailed off as he looked into the distance. Something was approaching on the horizon, kicking up dust in its wake.

Jazz stood up, taking a few steps towards the approaching figure. "Ya'll stay behind me," he said. "If that's who I think it is, I don't want 'ya getting underfoot. At my size, that could be bad for ya' health."

They didn't have times before his hands transformed into a pair of Subsonic Repeaters. The mech's face had turned from cool and laid back to a look of utter seriousness. He raised his weapons at the figure in the distance.

As it came closer, the mech seemed to get edgier. The organics at his feet got nervous as well. They all kept a tighter grip on his weapons, and leveled them at the approaching shape.

It was a tank. A floating tank, painted gunmetal grey with red highlights, purple lights and a multitude of cruel looking spikes. "Friend of yours?" Garrus asked.

Jazz shook his head. "Naw, I only go' one friend who's a tank. And he's a lot nicer lookin'." Suddenly a look of shock came across his face. "Ohhhh... Scrap, I think I know who that is."

He began backing up a bit, and the organics behind him followed suit as the tank got within ten feet and transformed. The fighting transport had quickly turned into the Decepticon warlord, with his insignia glowing on his chest.

"Autobot!" Megatron thundered with malicious glee, leveling his fusion cannon. His voice was more hoarse than Jazz remembered it, bit it didn't make the 'Con any less intimidating. "Prepare to join your brethren in the Allspark!"


	2. Who Are You?

**Hey, chapter 2 here. I would like to say thank you to all those who followed and faced, but it would be great if you could leave a review. And I am currently looking for a cover artist if anyone is interested. Also, there was a bit of a rest on, mainly that 'protoforms' were changed to 'sparklings'. Anyway, on with the story:**

 **Chapter 2: Who Are You?**

There was one thing that had never changed about Jazz since he entered his chassis as a newborn Spark: his temperament. From the time he became self-aware, he had always acted like he was on top, that he was in control.

That hadn't changed for a second during the war. With his best friend Orion, later Optimus, leading the charge, there had never been a doubt in the mech processor that they would eventually come out on top.

But at that moment, he didn't feel in control.

He was mere feet from Megatron, the head 'Con, the one who killed Cybertron. As far as he knew, the only Cybertronian who could take him without having some kind of absurd advantage was Optimus himself.

That didn't mean he acted like he was freaking out. As Megatron's fusion cannon whined with the power of the upcoming blast, Jazz's processor went into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down for the 'Bot, and he quickly took action.

The music-orientated Autobot dove forwards, using his servos to propel himself further. Right before Megatron fired, Jazz kicked the barrel of the cannon away. The resulting blast of explosive Energon flew harmlessly to the right.

In the next second he had transformed his right arm back into a Subsonic repeater. He spun on his side, and opened fire on the King Con's face.

A multitude of small Energon bolts peppered Megatron's face. They didn't penetrate his shields, but they disorientated him. The larger mech stumbled backwards, shielding himself with his servos.

The organics were surprised at how fast the large mech had moved, and even more surprised when he dove back towards them. With no time to react, they were grabbed by as Jazz began to transfrom, his chassis folding around him until they were inside his vehicle mode.

The armored plating retracted, revealing a transparent metal instead. He reeve his engine and shot forwards at lightning speed. Shepard was in the front seat, with Tali beside him. Poor Wrex and Garrus were smooshed in the back.

"Wha-" Tali began, but her voice left her as inertia caught up to them and they were pinned to the back of the seat. "No time to explain, guys. We gotta roll!" Jazz said urgently. The Cybertronian car made a beeline for the dune that had been his prison for centuries. Using it as a ramp, he flew into the air, getting a good distance before them, Megatron regained his bearings, and looked at the retreating Autobot with rage.

In an instant, he had transformed, resuming the cruel tank form. The chase was on. Though Megatron was no match for Jazz in terms of speed, his firing range was top notch, and he cratered the land with his cannon.

The organics were thrown around as he found a clearer path through the dunes.

"What the hell?!" Garrus yelled as they swerved to avoid another cannon shot. He had the unfortunate fate as a giant red-clad lizard nearly crushed him against the side of the Autobot's insides.

Tali was gripping the door and Shepard's arm for dear life, and the Commander himself was trying not to freak out. "What is that thing?!" Wrex yelled, glancing out Jazz's back window.

He saw Megatron clear the same dune dust flying everywhere. The centuries-old warrior was the first to admit he was having trouble figuring out what the hell was going on. In his long memory, he had never encountered a synthetic that could emote like these two... Or ones that fought each other.

"Whatever it is," the Krogan said. "Why are we running. If it's gonna kill you, kill it first," he berated the transport, who swerved to avoid another blast.

"I would if I could!" Jazz retorted. "But better 'Bots than me have been trying for centuries. Best I can do is loose 'em. So, just be cool until I can explain, ok?"

They had no time to respond as another Energon blast sent Jazz tumbling through the air. However,his tires rotated to become thruster that automatically righted himself in the air. Tali's eyes widened at that. In any other situation, she would be dying to find out how that worked. At the moment, however, she was focused on not becoming ashes.

Jazz landed facing the 'Con, and put himself in reverse. Miniguns rose out of his chassis, and he opened fire on the tank. It was an exercise in futility, though, as the shots didn't even damage his shields.

Suddenly Shepard's comm beeped. He raised a hand to his helmet to answer it. "What is it Joker," he asked, recognizing the caller frequency. The Flight Lieutenant's voice was rushed and baffled as the sound filled his helmet.

"Commander, that planet just lit up like a Christmas Tree with synthetic signals," he said as Jazz turned himself around, kicking up dust. "What's going on down there, is it the Geth?"

"Negitive" the Spectere answered. "It's..." He flinched as one of Megatron's shots exploded not five feet away from his window. "... Complicated," he decided, with an edge of irritation in his voice.

"What?" Joker questioned, sounding even more confused. "Sir, are those explosions? What the hell is firing at you, that doesn't sound like Geth artillery!"

"I'll explain later!" With that, he terminated the frequency. Megatron fired again, this time only missing his target by a few circuits. Jazz fumbled a bit, nearly going side-over-side. "Woah!" He yelled. "We won't last much longer like this," Wres said, gripping his shotgun.

"We need to find somewhere to hide," Tali agreed, looking at their tail frantically.

"Well I'll let you know when I find one," the Autobot said cooly. Suddenly the com beeped again, but this time it wasn't the organics'.

"Any chance you could use a hand?" A baritone voice said from Jazz's console. Suddenly Megatron was slammed to the side by an invisible force. The tank was derailed, and started to go side-over-side.

As the collision happened, the air started to shimmer, until a small red transport was revealed. "Cliffjumper!" Jazz said happily as the red 'Bot caught up. "Man, you are a sight for malfunctioning optics!"

"Same here. Now, wanna explain why we have Budkethead on our tailpipes..." The car seemed to take another glance at him. "Or why your transport chamber is filled with organics?"

"Later!" Jazz said. "For now, we gotta hide!" The white and red Cybertronians kicked up the speed. Behind them, they could hear Megatron's hellish roar of rage. They drove at top speed for a few more minuets, watching the dunes roll behind them.

There was silence, everyone still reeling from shock. Tali had not loosened her grips since Jazz took them, and Garrus was still glancing around with wide eyes. Finally, the silence was broken by something that was inevitable in retrospect.

Without warning, Wrex readied his shotgun and pointed it at Jazz's console. The transport swerved from surprise, screeching to a halt. Cliffjumper did the same, the inertia carrying him a few feet away.

"Ok, I've had enough," the Krogan warlord said aggressively. "Tell us what the hell is going on, or I'll strip you for spare parts!" He wasn't joking either. Krogans were not known for their patience, and the series of events that had occurred would probably have most rational beings in hysterics.

"Hey now," Jazz said, attempting to calm the Krogan. "No need for that, be cool-"

"I'm done being 'cool'!" Wrex growled, learign between Shepard and Tali to press his gun against the console. "Answers! Now!"

"You want me to squish 'em?" Cliffjumper deadpanned a few feet away.

"No, Cliff," Jazz deadpanned. "You... Lizard dude-"

"Wrex!"

"Wrex," he corrected himself. "Gimme a second. Let me slip into somethin' mo' comfortable." Suddenly the transport began shifting around them throwing the organics out as Jazz transformed into mech mode.

Across from him, Cliffjumper did the same, rolling his shoulders. The mech had the same glowing blue eyes as Jazz, and the same red symbol behind his neck. He studied the organics curiously, with an air of neutrality. He lingered briefly on Garrus, who was fiddling with the trigger of his sniper rifle. The Turian saw this, ans shifted slightly. In response, Cliffjumler just sneered.

Jazz knelt down an air of seriousness about him that was gone before. Eons of dreaming had left him a bit more relaxed than he had been during the war. Seeing Megatron only served to bring back his wartime mood.

"So... What do you want to know?"

* * *

Megatron stomped through the desert, leaving massive footprints in the dust as he walked. He didn't really know where he was gong jus that he was advancing. Eventually, a surge of pain from his chest made him for the first time since his awakening to look at himself.

His final battle with Optimus had left him severely damaged, with a large hole in his chassis. Many of his spikes had been broke, and he was missing the right part of his helmet.

He growled, grabbing a part of his garaged armor and casting it aside. He had lost those Autobots when the red one had knocked him off balence. Both mech were clearly designed for speed, something Megatron's new body lacked. He sneered at himself, making a mental note to correct this. The warlord looked up at the sun, considering the ugly world, before he snarled and shook his head.

He closed his optics, focusing. He could sense Decepticon life signals nearby. Without proper equipment, he couldn't tell who they were, but it hardly mattered to the warlord.

He raised his arm, and fired several shots into the air as beacons. They exploded in powerful starbursts, until his Planet Buster mod made the last explosion bigger than several Makos.

The blue-purple starburst could be seen for miles, and amount the newly-awakened Cybertronians, many fled at the sight of it, knowing who the only transformer with a fully-functioning fusion cannon was.

"Decepticons!" He yelled. "Return to your master!" The call rang out across the dunes, and he waited for a few minuets. To his great pleasure, the call was answered by someone very significant.

Soon enough, a stout Cybertronian car appeared from over a dune, the engine roaring. It was quite scary in appearence, with big wheels and a spiky grill, the Decepticon shield in the front.

The Decepticon screeched as it came to a halt in front of Megatron, and rumbled for a second, before he transformed into an individual that the warlord knew quite well.

"Greetings, Lord Megatron," Soundwave droned in a synthetic voice. Though he was smaller than his master, he was every bit as intimidating, with his expressionless face and the screen on his chest proudly displaying the symbol of his faction.

The Communications Officer bowed his head in respect. He looked damaged, but a little rusty and covered in sand.

"Arise, Soundwave," Megatron commanded, and his subordinate obeyed. "Report," he commanded.

"We have been in stasis for approximately fifty thousand megacycles," Soundwave said,activating his visor's holographic display to being up charts and data. "Scans show a that there is no indigenous population. However, there is a ship in high-orbit."

"And the Cybertronians on the planet?" Megatron asked.

"A small fraction of the members of the skirmish at the Space Bridge," he confirmed. "Multiple signals from Vehicons and Seekers. Autobot life signals: shielded."

Megatron frowned, but didn't lash out. "Have you recived any contact from the other Decepticons?"

"Affirmative," Soundwave nodded. "All personal minicons accounted for. Numerous troops and special operatives are in scanning range."

"Then we must retrieve my subordinates. Send Laserbeak to gather them," his master commanded bluntly, and the blue mech nodded.

"Laserbeak: eject. Operation: Decepticon retrieval." A panel in his chest opened up, and a red minicon with yellow optics and an avian chassis flew out, a hybrid of a transforming sound and a bird's cry emitting from the small Cybertronian. It looked at its masters for a cycle, before turning and jetting off into the distance. The 'Cons watched it go for a moment, before Soundwave spoke.

"Lord Megatron, repairs to your chassis are required." He stared bluntly. The warlord merely scowled and waved his hand dismissively.

"I still function, Soundwave. And until such time as my spark goes out, I shall proceed as if it intends to continue burning ." He growled.

"Negitive. Repairs needed. Wounds dealt by Optimus Prime put you under threat of repeated non-functionality." Soundwave insisted, his voice still emotionless, but his posture insistent.

Mulling over his words, Megatron grimaced. If there was one Cybertronain he trusted, it was Soundwave. The mech had been at his side since the pits of Kaon, and ever since he had sworn alligence to him, Soundwave had never shown anything but loyalty.

"Fine. Repairs will commence. But as soon as they are finished, we will find the Autobots on this planet," he turned towards the last place he had seen Jazz and Cliffjumper.

With a voice filled with venom, he continued. "And snuff their sparks out. One by one!"

* * *

"It began so long ago we lost count. Cybertron used to be where it was at. We had everything. Music, tech, you name it, we were probably the most advanced people out there... And then we let it get to our heads."

Jazz was telling the story with a note of sorrow in his voice. He had already explained what they were, but now he was telling them why. Still kneeled on the ground, the organics watched him studiously, until the Special Opps officer's optics flickered. Suddenly he constructed a minor hologram around them.

"Woa..." Tali said, looking around. Jazz had created the image of Iacon, before it's unfortunate fate. Tall towers made of glittering metals rose into the sky, Seekers flying through the air. Around them, there was the rush if many Cybertronians in vehicle mode, or in their robotic forms interacting next to the streets. They even spotted a couple of smaller transformers, ones that looked like kids, milling about at the larger transformers' feet.

Shepard was at a lost for words as he glanced around him. The city was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was depicting synthetics in a way that he had never even conceived to be possible: alive.

Tali was having a similar reaction, kneeling on the illusionary ledge to look down below at the sprawling depths below. Was something like this the future of the Geth? She shook her head. 'No,' she thought. 'They're monsters.' She spotted three sparklings playing with each other, and she smiled behind the mask. It was like watching a group of kids play tag. In fact... That's exactly what it was.

She swallowed, and looked back at Jazz as he continued his story. "Over time... Well, as our saying goes, the rust set in. We became corrupt, inequality was everywhere. As soon as a Spark was born, it was assigned to a caste, then raised to fulfill its role. The lowa' castes had it rough... Not much mo' than slaves if I'm honest."

The Autobot looked down in sadness as the hologram flickered to an arena. "In fact... In some illegal parts, they had Energon-sports." They looked around them at the metal arena filled with Cybertronians.

Suddenly a stomp shook the ground, and a metal body hit the ground, hard. They looked up, and saw none other than Megatron, a sloppy 'D-16' painted in purple on his chest, holding the head of the fallen warrior by its wires. "Megs was raised as a gladiator, and turned himself into a political revolutionist. And over time, that revolution happened... And it went bad."

He grimmaced. "Soon the entire planet was forced to choose a side. Autobot..." Suddenly they were back in the city, but it was different. Instead of glittering, the buildings were dull, and half destroyed. Scores of Cybertronians were lifeless on the ground, some still grasping onto functionality."

Suddenly the air shook as an aircraft rocketed forwards. They tracked its movements, spotting the purple insignia on its rudders. "Or Decepticon," Cliffjumper finished bitterly. The aircraft was moving towards a group of Autobots. Among them was what seemed to be a yellow Cliffjumper, seemingly giving orders.

The red mech continued the story. "On one hand, we Autobots had Optimus for out leader." As the aircraft fired to missiles, a path formed along side him. A large red and blue transport sped across the path far faster than one would think it capable of going.

He leapt off his track and transformed mid-air into an impressive-looking mech. Inertia carried him in front of the missiles, and he backhanded one away, before catching the other one in the palm of his servo.

BOOM! The missile detonated violently. The explosion lingered for a second, before Optimus flew out of it, sparks fling as he skidded on the ground to stop next to Bumblebee. He seemed undamaged,never getting up to fight mere seconds later.

Even Wrex was impressed with that. Tanking a missile with no apparent damage was a good way to earn a Krogan'a respect. Even more so when Optimus stood, and produced a large, glowing axe.

"And they had Megatron." Jazz continued. She hologram shifted to show said mech standing on a pile of defeated Autobots. Excluding Wrex,the organics collectively flinched as he held a still-functioning mech by the head. There was somthing disturbing about the very organic-way the Autobot kook flailed before Megatron easily crushed his head.

"And it only went downhill from there." Both mechs seemed to look down in shame. Cliffjumper was the next to speak. "We fought for every square inch of our planet. But when the dust settled... There really wasn't anythin' left worth saving." The hologram shifted to what could have easily been a post-appocalyptic wasteland. Everything was either burned, or rusted. The sun glared harshly against the metal ground.

The image phased out, showing a large metal planet with fractures so huge they looked big from space, exposing large dark voids or eerie orange glows, giving it a haunted look. Tali shivered at the image, swallowing.

Wrex shifted uncomfortably at this, reminded of the fate of his homeworld, Tuchunka. He looked at the 'Bots with a grim look. He couldn't decide if they were being truthful or not, but the scene before him was very much like what he predicted his once-glorious world would look like eventually. In fact, he could see a lot of similarities between their people's fates.

Jazz sighed, and deactivated the hologram, leaving them back in the actual wasteland, not the one in Jazz's memories. "We lost everything. And when we tried to escape, the 'Cons followed. We ended up going through an unstable wormhole... And then all this," Cliffjumper said bitterly, motioning around them.

Shepard blinked, still processing what he had seen. He had certainly proven that he was no Geth, but how could he trust the mech to be completely honest with them. He looked at Tali, and then at the Autobots.

She saw him, and he glanced at the transformers with a questioning expression, silently asking her what she thought of the situation. Seemingly reciving the message, she looked down in throughout, shifting her weight nervously. Then, after a few seconds, she nodded.

"Ok... I guess, if you were trying to kill us, you would have already done it." Shepard said hesitantly. The story seemed to have put the Autobots in a grimmer mood, but Jazz smiled slightly when he heard that the Commander was at least going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Thanks. I've been Goin' thorough soma' yo 'extranet' for a bit. Synthetics are kinda taboo here, huh?" Jazz assumed.

Tali nodded hesitantly. "Yes... Most people fear AI's and synthetics. Mostly because the examples we have seen have been hostile, usually wiping out the settlements they are created in, or, attempting to anyway." She explained, trying to sound neutral.

When Cliffjumper frowned, she bit her lip, hoping she hadn't just offended them. Quickly, she steeled herself, and stood in front of them. "But as the first Quarian to make contact with your kind... I would like to say... I hope your not like them." She swallowed. "I can't say I trust you yet... But I want to give you the benefit of the doubt." And she did want to trust them. But having everyone around you tell you that anything intelligent and made of metal and wires was evil from birth didn't go away with one rescue. For all she knew, they could have other motives. However, she wasn't an ungrateful being, so she stood as tall as she could, and said. "I am Tali'Zorah Narr Reyya. Thank you, for saving my life."

The Autobots nodded at her.

"And the rest of you?" Cliff asked. "I've been reading your files since we lost Buckethead. And it's an honor, Commander," he nodded to Shepard. "But there's nothing in your ship's public manifest about... Any of you." He looked at the other three.

"The honor's mine," Shepard assured him. "And these are some of my ground squad. You've met Wrex," Jazz scowled at the Krogan, still miffed about being held at gunpoint. While it wasn't in his Energon to take revenge, it didn't mean he didn't take offense to stuff like that. For his part, the red-clad Battlemaster just sneered at the blue and white mech.

"And that's Garrus," Shepard motioned to the Turian, who just nodded in response.

"So, now that introductions are out of the way, you guy's got a plan fo' getting out of here? Because I'm pretty sure our ride's totaled." Shepard had to keep himself from laughing at Jazz's use of old Earth Slang, but he nodded nonetheless, and put a finger to his comm.

"Joker, we need a pickup... We'll be bringing along a few surprises." He waited for the inevitable snark from the flight lieutenant, but strangely, all he got was static. "Joker?" He tried again.

Suddenly from atop the rock formation Cliffjumper was leaning on, a voice said, "Drop your weapons and put your servos in the air." The voice was male, but... Young. Almost like a teenager's. They looked up to see a Cybertronian smaller than Jazz by a good bit. He was entirely silver, with some black lowlights and some lights for his vehicle mode. His arms hand wheels just under his elbows, and his feet had them under them, so he looked a bit like a roller skater. He had a helm not unlike he N-7 helmet Shepard wore, but with no front. Instead, he had a young-looking face with dark blue optics.

Jazz quickly scanned him for an insignia, but there was none. But he also recognized that it was an adolescent Sparkling that was talking to them. Raising his hands placatingly, he said," "Woa, boy. No need for stuff like that. I'm an Autobot. Good guy-"

Unexpectedly, the silver mech cut him off. "What's an Autobot?" The silver mech tilted his head, and raised and optic ridge in confusion.

This caused the mechs to pause and look at each other in confusion. The organics at their feet just raised their weapons. The silver mech tensed at this, and he rolled back a little.

"No one takes my gun," Wrex snarled. "And certainly not some metal punk who thinks he can bully a Krogan just because he's bigger." The silver mech narrowed his dark blue optics. The others said nothing, but Shepard nodded in agreement.

"That's... Unfortunate." The sliver mech said said, looking genuinely regretful. He looked down sadly for a second, before he closed his eyes in concentration, and let out a high-pitch sonic pulse that made the beings on the ground below him flinch.

From behind a dune was the sound of a heavy engine revving. Suddenly a Cybertronian vehicle cleared it. The vehicle was smillilar in shape to Jazz, but thicker and looking less streamlined and more like it was meant for ramming.

From above them, what seemed to be a Cybetronian helicopter whirled into view, kicking up dust as it transformed and landed close to the ground. The mech was only half the size of his silver compatriot, but still taller than the organics. The mech had a structure around his optics that resembled glasses. He had a stocky build, and the blades from his helicopter form hung on his back like swords in sheaths.

The ground vehicle transformed into a purple and black femme, with a similar body shape to Jazz, only more feminine. She had wires on her head tied up in a way that reminded Shepard of the way some Japanese girls on Earth used to do up their hair. She landed quite close to their group, and her optics gleamed with excitement as she flexed her servos.

The Autobits recognized them all as adolescent sparklings, so they didn't draw their weapons. The organics had no such distinction, thoguh, and kept their barrels continually switching targets from one mech to the next.

"Dude, there's no need for this," Jazz said, looking from his group to theirs quickly, his chassis taking on an anxious stance. "Look, whatcha' name kids. Maybe we can help y'all."

"My name is Mirage," the lead bot answered grimly. "And we don't need your help. Override, Grindor," he said, and the other two got ready. "Take them." His arms transformed into two blades as long as his torso with a loud clang. Across from them, Override, the femme, balled her fists and took a fighting stance. Grindor reached back and seized one of the blades of his helicopter form, drawing it like a longsword.

Jazz and Cliffjumper backed up, refusing to draw their guns on what were essentially children, while Shepard and his squad prepared to open fire. The white and blue mech looked from his new allies to the Sparklings frantically, a distraught look on his face.

"Scrap..." He muttered.

* * *

 **That's it for now, guys. Soundwave has reunited with Megatron, so only bad things could come of that. And I promise the next chapter will elaborate on Mirage, Override and Grindor, who, by the way, are based off Jack, Miko and Raf. I'll see you all later, but have a fantastic whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this.**

 **-RNC**


	3. The Old Rise The Young Fall

**Chapter 3: The Old Rise... The Young Fall**

 _"NO!" Megatron yelled. "I WILL NOT BE DENIED!"_

 _Optimus gripped the hull of the Ark as he and the Lord of the Decepticons fought to keep from falling into the void. Under the battlemask, the red and blue bot grimaced, his optics narrowing in anger._

 _He had just seen his close friend, Bumblebee, nearly destroyed by Megatron. He had seen countless mechs snuffed because of Megatron's war-mongering. Their very planet had become a casualty in the war that the 'Con had thirsted for._

 _And Optimus had finally had enough. For the past millennia, he had to be strong for his men, he had to make them believe they could win... Even though there were times the Prime didn't even think they could himself._

 _He looked at the warlord, who was hanging on by the tips of his servos. They had been brothers once... But no more._

 _He transformed his right hand into his worn weapon, the Path Blaster, and took aim. "Megatron," he growled as he lined the Blaster up with the warlord. He put as much conviction and strength into what he said next as he could. "Begone!"_

 _He fired, and the blast knocked the Warlord off the ship. He began spinning off towards the unstable Space Bridge._

 _Unfortunately, the knockback jarred Optimus's grip, and he separated from the hull of the ship right after his eons-long nemesis. He watched as Autobot and Decepticon alike began to fall into the void after him, even the two great vessels getting pulled violently into the wormhole._

 _He looked at Cybertron one last time, picturing everyone left behind. Grimlock, Omega, Metroplex, the countless soldiers he put into stasis to save their lives, so that they could repair._

 _With that, the last Prime fell into darkness, the shapes of countless Cybertronians tumbled around him. He groaned, but then noticed something. Whenever someone left his view, they were gone when he looked back._

 _He narrowed his optics in confusion as he see arched around, more and more mechs and femmes vanishing without explanation. Soon, he was alone, falling through the void. The old 'Bot felt a chill go up his chassis, and a jolt of fear ran through his circuits._

 _On the edges of his vision, just in the corner of his Optics, he could see something moving in the blackness. They were made of metal, but certainly not Cybertronian. They resembled some organic aquatic organisms he had studied at Iacon, but they felt much... Much more sinister._

 _Suddenly a voice began to echo in his audio receptors. "Optimus Prime."_

 _Said mech looked around, but saw no-one. The strange mechs had vanished, and he was once again alone. He scowled, but soon enough, the voice sounded again. "Optimus Prime, you must awaken. You-"_

"-Must awaken now!"

Optimus's optics shot open, but he soon regretted the action. No longer was his chassis in the condition it was during the battle. Somehow, he had become damaged, and he was almost completely rusted over. He was missing multiple peices of his armor, NAND he was very nearly out of Energon.

Above him, a distorted blue light floated, pulsating slightly. "Normally my programming would prevent me from acquiring The aid of a synthetic," it said. "But after reviewing your memory core, logic dictates that you may be able to aid with what is coming.

Optimus tried to scan the entity, but he was too damaged. His scanner flickered weakly, before the tired not sighed, and tried to sit up. "Who..." He groaned.

The entity floated for a second, giving off a distinct feel of wariness, before answering. "I am Vigil, and you, Optimus Prime, are still required." With that, the Prime looked about, discovering the long abandoned facility he was in.

Rust and overgrowth covered every square inch of the facility. From what he could scan, there were dozens, if not hundreds of pods deactivated around him. He turned his head weakly back to Vigil, and the VI seemed to study him for a moment.

"Welcome to Ilos, Optimus Prime."

* * *

Cybertron was nearly completely desolate, and nowhere showed that fact more prominently than Iacon.

What had once been the pinnacle of the Transformers' civilization was little more than a rusted scrapyard now. Once tall, gleaming tower were now crumbling into dust, if not already toppled over, or long since blown up.

The automated platforms and pathways were now still, and no fliers or Seekers filled the sky's anymore. It was night, so the sky was dark. It was only by way of Cybertron's moon that there was any light in the ruins at all.

All was silent, as it had been for centuries. The only things that had once been alive inside it were the sparkless chassises of both Autobot and Decepticon, left there when the battles had been too fierce to reclaim them.

The biggest and most prominent laid at the edge of Iacon. A massive Autobot, do large he practically was a small section of the city. His entire upper body, and some of his lower, was covered with impossibly large artillery cannons, and a dim Autobot insignia was adorned proudly on the right side of his torso.

The husk of the once-mighty titan Metroplex laid in his final resting place, reduced to near-permanent stasis after sacrificing all his Energon for his brethren on the Ark. His shadow fell over Iacon, further darkening the city.

Land that was how it had been for centuries. Until one day, after melennia, that changed. One day, the ruins were once again filled with footsteps as a being approached it's once-hospitable borders.

 _CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!_

The footsteps echoed from more than one entity as the city was once again filled with minor noise.

At the edge of the city were four creatures. They looked nothing like usual Cybertronians, as there was no hint of a vehicular mode in their bodies. They looked more primitive, more primal with spikes or ridges or wings.

By far the largest one held himself higher than even Megatron, his blazing Autobot insignia bright on his chest as his heavy footsteps echoed through the ruin.

He took a moment to look around, his optics lingering on the limp form of Metroplex. If he had a mouth, he would have frowned. As the case was, he took on a slightly sorrowful posture, but it was short lived before the hardened stance of a warrior returned.

"We're back..." The Autobot known as Grimlock grunted as he led the Dynobots into the ruins of Iacon.

* * *

Mirage leaped off his perch with surprising speed, the adolescent Sparkling decending upon his elders with astonishing speed.

Jazz's optics widened, and he leaped backwards in defense, nearly tripping over Shepard's team. As he did, Mirage went after him, slashing with his swords. The blue and white mech was lothed to fight a Sparkling, albeit a near-fully mature sparkling, but he had no choice when Mirage rushed him with clear intent to maim.

Reacting on instinct, he grabbed Mirage's arm as it came down to slice, him, but did not had time to defend as the sliver sparkling kicked him in the torso.

Without being ordered, the organics joined in the fight. Wrex took aim at Grindor, and let off his shotgun. The orange Sparkling stumbled back, but his face soon shifted into a scowl. He raised his foot, and was about to kick the Krogan before a shot hit him in the side of the head.

He yelled in pain, stumbling away from the blast. Garrus stood there with his sniper rifle raised, looking down the scope. Grindor held the side of his head, an expression of pain on his face, before he raised the sword and advanced.

Cliffjumper had fallen victim to Override's attentions. The adolescent femme charged at him like a bull. Before he knew it, she slammed her servo into his right optic. Sparks flew as the fist connected, and the red mech was sent flying into a dune.

He coughed as spuds flew everywhere, and he grimaced. "The girl hits like a Wrecker..." He muttered, before he heard the sound of Transformation. He looked up to see Override barreling towards him in vehicle mode. This time, however, he was ready, and activated his cloaker.

The Autobot vanished into thin air, and the femme spinned as she tried to stop, her wheels screeching on the rocks. "Eh?" She grunted in confusion, and transformed. Without warning, Cliffjumper appeared behind her and out the femme in a headlock.

" _Clam down,_ " he grunted, switching to Cybertronian as she strained against him. Cliff wasn't a brawny bot, and Override had been blessed with extremely strong servos. However, he manage to keep her pinned. " _We're trying to help you-_ "

" _I'll belive that when I see it_ ," she hissed back in kind, and managed to grab the side of Cliff's chassis. The Sparkling threw the Special Opps bot with all her might, sending him tumbling into the air. She scowled, but felt a sharp pain in her side when an assault rifle round began to nip at her chassis.

" _Ow_!" She yelped, turning to see that it was Commander Shepard giving her opponent an assist. "Stop it!" She shouted in English, and rushed the both of them.

Meanwhile, Mirage and Jazz were still locked in combat. Mirage would slash at the elder bot, using his wheeled feet for added speed and agility. He slid and stabbed at Jazz, but the white and blue mech would always dodge, his movements resembling some sort of dance as he weaves away from Mirage's blows.

" _Throttle back, kid_!" Jazz yelled. " _I don't wanna fight ya_!"

Mirage didn't answer, just slashed upwards with one of his swords. Jazz leaned back, the blade nearly chipping his paint. He took a few steps backwards, and grimaced as the Sparkling continued his assault.

Without warning, he fired his grapple ray from his wrist. It latched onto Mirage's face, and pulled him close. The Special Opps officer slammed his fist into the silver mech, clotheslining him.

Mirage landed on his back, groaning, and sat up, getting to his pedes quickly as he saw Jazz coming. The blue and white mech kicked at Mirage, who rolled from the blow but was soon back on his wheels.

 _"Kid, I'm begging ya here, just stay down!"_ Jazz yelled, but Mirage shook his head, taking a defensive stance. "Don't make me hurt you!"

Mirage just scowled and shook his head. _"I'm afraid I can't do that. I've already made that mistake,"_ he narrowed his optics, and a battlemask similar to that of Optimus Prime slid over his mouth. _"Never again!"_ He rushed Jazz, leaping into the air and spinning with his sword whirring downwards.

Jazz transformed to avoid the silver blades, but was suddenly kicked upright by Grindor, who was still fending off Wrex and Garrus. He had two of his helicopter blades in his hand, and was slashing at the organics when he could, using the flat of the blades to defend if he couldn't.

He transformed, and ran into Cliffjumper and Shepard, who had Override on the ropes. She was leaking Energon a bit, and her chassis had a few holes and dings in it. She grimaced, taking on a defensive stance as she saw Jazz get closer.

 _"Stand down now, kid!"_ Cliffjumper commanded, and she scowled.

 _"Get scrapped,"_ was her venomous response, and she looked around. Her optics widened as she spotted the rocky formation near her, and grinned. Using her powerful servos, she ripped up a chunk of the wall and threw it.

The chunk hit Cliffjumper in the torso with a loud _CLANG!_ The red mech flew backwards, groaning.

For his part, Shepard had to duck to avoid raining chunks of rock. Dust obscured his visor for a moment, and he saw Override transform and race in his direction. His eyes widened and Jazz grabbed the commander, pulling him out of the way. The blue and white bot took the hit as Override ran over his torso, landing with all four wheels on the ground to regroup with Mirage and Grindor, who had shielded themselves against Shepard's squads' fire with a rock formation.

The organics took aim at the weakened Sparklings, who all looked to have taken a bit of damage from the organics' weapons. Mirage rolled slightly in front if his comrades, holding his swords in a defensive stance.

As soon as Jazz saw this, he got up, wincing in pain, holding the dent Override's wheels had made. "Hold up," he called to his new allies, who hesitated before firing. Wrex looked a bit trigger-happy still, but complied nonetheless.

There was a moment of silence as the fighting finally stopped. The dust around them still floated through the air,making it a bit hard to see. The Autobot helped Cliffjumper off the ground, and turned to the Sparklings. "If y'all are done, you mind explainin' what a bunch of rouge Sparkling's are doing on the middle o' nowhere?!"

Mirage scowled, but said nothing. However, Grindor looked around his larger companion. There was a curious look on the young mech's face as he peered at them. There was a dent in his helm, and side of his torso had shattered damage along the right side.

"Rouge?" He asked, but Mirage silenced him with a look, holding a blade in front of the younger Sparkling to block his question.

"Like I said, I don't want to do this either..." He scowled. "But we don't have a choice." Eh turned to the other two and nodded. "It's nothing personal," Mirage continued. "I'll give you one last chance. Stand down, and we won't hurt you."

"You should follow your own advice," Cliffjumper said aggressive tone, balling his fists. Below them, the organics readied their weapons. Two shotgus, a Sniper rifle and an assault rifle, all aimed at the Sparklings. Wrex even glowed faintly with biotic power.

Mirage scowled, and looked down sorrowfully. "You chose this, then..." He suddenly dashed forwards, and before the Autobots could stop them, Shepard and his squad opened fire. Mirage slid, most of the bullets hitting the armored part of his chassis. He wen tight up to Jazz and leaped, kicking him in the face and using his as a springboard to leap back to his team.

Override ran towards him, and began to transform. But not into her vehicle mode... Into something else. The two sparklings transformed at the same time, their chassises beginning to combine as Orverride formed the lower half and Mirage the top. Grindor flew towards them and split off into multiple pieces, armor ing up the arms and the torso of the now cohesive unit. The part of him that held his rotor blades fused to the being's back, acting as four swords sheathed on his back. The result was an amalgam Cybertronian that combined the best of all three, with Override's blunt-instrument-like build, Grindor's blades, and wheels on the heel-struts that could likely be converted to skates like Mirage's.

The combined mech took a moment to steady himself, before glaring down at his enemies. "Centurion online... Ready to do my duty." He glared down at them. His head was different than Mirage's. It had a orange Optimus-esq helm, and a tied up bunch of wires on the back of his head like Overdrives, only this looked more like a samuri's topknot.

The elder Cybertronians noted that unlike combines such as Bruticus or Devestator, Centurion's design didn't seem to rely on brute force. He was barely the size of the fairly large Cybertronians like Megatron or Optimus, and clearly more maneuverable than the Decepticon gestalts. Rather than form an ultimate weapon at the moment, these three seemed to merely combine their adolescent strength to match that of a strong, full grown Cybertronian.

It made the effect no less impressive though. A combiner team usually meant trouble, no matter the faction or number of components.

Jazz and Cliffjumper stared up at the combiner with expressions of astonishment the look mirrored exactly by the ground squad at their feet behind their helmets. Tali couldn't help but be a tiny bit terrified, a sentiment shared by all but Wrex.

"Well..." Jazz said, looking up at the combiner in shock. "I did _not_ see _that_ comin'."

* * *

Grimlock grunted as he began pushing rubble out of the way from the entrance of what had once been the Data Hub of Iacon. The rubble was no match for the leader of the Dynobots, and he easily tossed it aside like a regular mech would an empty Energon cube.

"Hey..." He turned to see his second-in-command, Swoop, standing near him. "Grimlock, me and the others were wonderin' somethin'." Grimlock nodded, indicating that he wanted Swoop to continue.

"Not that it ain't' great to be home an' all." Swoop looked around the various structures with a bit of nostalgia in his voice, but shook his head. "But why here? I mean, the other 'Bots probably didn' leave much Energon behind, seein' as they had the Ark to haul outta here.

He was right. The Dynobots had been in stasis for half the time the war had been lost, courtesy of Shockwave's malfunctioning Space Bridge Generator (AkA Grimlock's snack). Fortunately for them, their self-repair functions had been upgraded by Shockwave's experiments, and their bodies had reactivated themselves eventually.

Lever since they had awakened, the Dynobots had become nomads. They had traveled Cybertron in search of Energon and survivors. They had only succeeded in finding a few scraps of both, though...

However, recently Grimlock had been determined to go back to Iacon, refusing to tell the others why. The undying loyalty they had to their leader prevented them from doing otherwise... But it still left them very confused.

Currently it was Grimlock and Swoop searching one part of the city, while Slug and Snarl scouted the other. The Dynobot leader didn't answer Swoops question, and continued clearing a path as if their exchange had not occurred.

Swoop himself sighed and shook his head. He had hoped for the conversation to go differently. While he couldn't exactly be surprised, he was disappointed. When he had awoken to find Grimlock chucking bombs at Snipercons, he had been overjoyed. But the team's resident flyer had learned that his old friend had seen some scrap while under Shockwave's care. He wasn't the same bot anymore. Close, very close... But not quite.

The smallest Dynobot began to push some rubble out of the way with his friend, but staggered back as he found something. "What is-oh... That's not good..."

The last part of his sentence came out mournfully, and Grimlock turned to see what his lieutenant had found. He stomped over to where Swoop was looking, and his visor optics narrowed in displeasure as he saw it.

The shattered, rusted remains of a very significant Autobot. "Alpha Trion..." Swoop muttered sorrowfully. "The old bot didn' deserve to go out like this..."

"Neither did Sludge." Grimlock grunted behind him, referencing the teammate who never even made it to Shockwave's lab. Swoop nodded sorrowfully, bowing his head in a moment of silence for the fallen elder.

Then, after a few moments, both mechs picked themselves up off the ground, and moved on. While that might seem sparkless, neither one of them could think of what could he done. There was no doubt that Trion was dead, so they couldn't help him. They had no recourses to give him a funeral, and no words to say in his memory. The Dynobots hadn't encountered the old bot more than once or twice, certainly not enough to be authorities on his character.

So the left, with only the shared feeling of respect for those who sacrificed their lives for the planet to mollify the discovery of the demise of an elder. Swoop, however, stopped and looked back at the old bot with a pained expression.

The blaster wounds exited through the front of his chest, meaning he had been shot in the back. From there, his crumpled and dented armor suggest he had been beaten into near stasis, before someone put him out of his misery with a shot to the processor.

It was a grim death. One that hadn't been the death Trion had deserved. Much like Sludge's. The simple but helpful Autobot had been the most timid of the group, and the youngest, despite his rather bulky exterior. The Dynobot sighed, remembering for the millionth time how many good mechs were consumed in the War for Cybertron.

* * *

Optimus was in bad shape, his rusted form barely able to move. Vigil didn't seem to be in optimal functionality either. The extremely versatile VI sometimes flickered in ad out of existence.

The Prime wasn't surprised. Vigil had been active almost as long as he had been in stasis, so neither of them could be expected to be in good shape.

Vigil was a VI of Prothean origin, presumably one of the most advanced ever built by the species, so advanced it bordered AI. Though malfunctioning, it was still capable of giving the Prime an intellectual conversation... If either of them had time for that.

Vigil had only found him recently, when a tectonic shift had made leader of the Autobot's stasis locked chassis fall with Vigil's range of manipulation. The Vi had scanned his memory core to determine his usefulness.

Upon finding that he could be of use, Vigil had sacrificed a portion of his own operational power to jump start Optimus, much like Tali had accidentally done for Jazz. Unfortunately, all it had accomplished was another dying machine on Ilos.

The cryptic machine had not yet seen fit to tell Optimus why it felt the blue and red mech was needed. It seemed to have a very severe anti-mechanical organism programming, and was working with Optimus with proverbial clenched teeth.

The leader of the Autobots sighed, deep and loud. He had managed to pull himself to his feet, and stumble about the base. The Prime looked warily at the statues he passed as he did. They were long and lanky, so then they almost looked emaciated. He wondered briefly why they were there. He had seen pictures of Protheans-the species Vigil had told him had inhabited this place-when he was Orion Pax. And those were not Protheans.

The Prime groaned as part of his armor fell off, a victim of rust. He deteriorated metal clanged on the ground, the sound echoing through the facility. He looked around, his optics flickering weakly. "I need... I need Energon..." He mumbled. Vigil was out of range, so there was no response, but the Prime felt he needed to hear a voice, even if it was his own. He had seen vehicles in one of the chambers, and the refresh systems that kicked in when he scanned a new vehicle mode should go a long way to restore his functionality... But he needed Energon to restore that capability.

He sighed once again, and stumbled forwards, his loud footsteps like cannon fire in the hollow halls. He passed a deactivated pod, and scanned it quickly. As he suspected, nothing was inside. That didn't surprise him. Even if a Prothean had died inside it, enough time had passed that even the bones would have turned to dust.

Also as he expected, there was no salvageable energy left inside for him to convert to Energon. If there was, there _would_ be a Prothean inside.

He closer his optics, and continued exploring. The Prime looked up at the sunlight creeping in through the cracks in the ceiling, before looking down in despair, thinking about how well it represented his current situation.

So near the light of life, but unable to take that last step. The Last Prime shook his head. After everything that had happened, all the lives lost and Energon spilled, after being shot at, smacked down, blown up. After Tripticon, the Dark Spark and the death of Cybertron's core, it seemed that it was Optimus's fate to lie down with the Protheans forever.

Suddenly he felt something tingle in his chest, and a faint glow lit up from between the cracks in his armor. Optimus's eyes widened as he remembered the precious vessel he was carrying.

A plan started to form in his processor. As he did, the mech felt something he hadn't felt in a long time surge through his circuitry.

He felt hope. This would _not_ be his dying day. This would _not_ be where he ended. His optics widened as the plan began to take more and more hold in his processor, and their blue glow seemed to get brighter by the second.

There was a significant change in the Autobot's posture to. His armor had gone from handing off his protoform core to readjusting itself on his body. He didn't stand with a defeated slump, but the dignity befitting his rank, even if wounded.

"Vigil," he announced loud enough for the VI to hear. "I have a plan."

* * *

Shepard was having a really off day.

First was Jazz and Cliffjumper, a pair that had challenged everything he had ever been taught about synthetics since Preschool on the SSC Norway when he was little.

Then there were these three newcomers. Like Megatron, they had attacked on sight, but had seemed much less ferocious about it. The way they battled the Autobots almost seemed like a preemptive strike, hit before being hit.

The soldier was seriously trying not to loose his shit at that moment, though. The three had combined to form what was clearly a superior mech, and would probably be more than the challenge his components had been.

He raised his Avenger assault rifle, he took aim and fired at Centurion's torso, aiming for the unarmored parts. However, the mech shifted to where the shots bounced off his metal plated chest.

He was rushed by both Cliffjumper and Jazz, but now that he was larger, he managed to hold his own against both at once as the organics provided support fiber. This seemed to shock Jazz, who suddenly cut off his assault.

"Hold on," he said, looking away from the mech. "Don't shoot 'em up! They're just-" before he could finish, Centurion's arm backhanded him, sending the Soecial Opps officer flying into a dune.

He grabbed Cluffjumper by the head, who in turn seized the gestalt by the chest plate. The two wrestled with each other as the Organics continued to try to take Centurion down with bug bites.

Cliffjumper finally managed to throw Centurion back a few feet, and the combiner managed to regain his footing. His now yellow optics narrowed in anger, and he reached back, grabbing the component that had Grindor's blades. The device merged with his arm, and the blades began to spin rapidly like a massive shield/buzz saw.

The red mech started back a little in surprise, taking a few steps back as Centurion took a combatitivd stance, the blades sliding through the stone at his feet. "Nuh-uh, I'm not going near that," Cliff said, his optics tracking the weapon warily.

Centurion said nothing and charged, ready to hit the Autobot full force when there was a sudden pain in his leg. He stumbled, and looked at the wound. His optics searched for the culprit, and found Wrex a few feet away with his shotgun drawn. The big mech groaned, and glared at the smaller creature. His blade mechanism had fallen a few feet away, impaled in the ground.

Shepard ran around and took aim at his optics, but Cliff jumped in the way. "Hold your fire, commander!" He yelled, but the momentary destruction let Centuoon gain the upper hand and slam his fist on Cliffjumper's back, sending the bot flying.

The combiner looked at the fallen soldier, before starring to run for his weapon. Suddenly he was grappled by Jazz's grapple ray, and thrown to the side. He tumbled for a big, before getting up and shaking the sand off.

Shepard watched as Jazz approached the large mech and said something in his native language with a pleading tone. Apparently Centurion wasn't interested in what Jazz had to say, for a second later, he shoulder-checked the older mech like a football player and made a bee-line for the weapon.

Tali yelled as she and Garrus leapt out of the way. They came up next to Shepard and watched as Centurion grabbed his weapon, and pulled it out of the ground.

He turned back to Jazz, but was stopped as Cliffjumper uncloaked in front of him. He reared back his fist and slammed it into the combiner's chest. He stumbled backwards, and struggled to regain momentum in the fight as his arm was lassoed by Jazz once again.

The Special Opps team began ganging up on the slightly larger bot with a number of moves designed to subdue, not harm, fully a where that they were not fighting a Decepticon, but children.

However, the same could not be said for the organics. All references identifying them as minors were either in Cybertronian or lost in the sounds of the fight. They had to run to avoid being kicked or crushed underfoot.

He sheilded Tali as Centurion fell to the ground, spraying dust and rocks everywhere. Wrex took cover with his own armor, and he had lost sight of Garrus. He looked around for him, but he threw him and the Quarian next to him out of the way as he saw Cliffjumper flying towards them, carried by a throw from the combiner.

The red mech rolled into another dune, and Garrus climbed out from over it, taking aim for the combiner's optics. Cliffjumper saw this and grabbed the Turion, transforming into vehicle mode as he did.

A dozen feet away, Centurion was being tied down by Jazz's grapple ray. He struggled, but the blue and white mech had a hand in taking down the much more formidable Bruticus. He had skills when fighting a combiner.

After a while, Centurion was subdued, energy coils wrapping around him. He struggled for a bit, but the last straw was when Jazz grappled him one last time, attaching his arms to the wall of a pillar, so tied up Spiderman would be impressed.

The combiner struggled, grunting in frustration, bits of his component's voices emerging occasionally. After a few minuets, he went limp, breathing heavily. Jazz and Cliffjumper stood in front of him, looking at him sternly.

"So... Now you wanna talk?"

* * *

Optimus looked up at the garbled form that Vigil took, and could have sworn that the VI was giving him a look of disdain.

"You desire to... Repeat the plan, please?" Vigil asked in an almost offended way. Optimus merely nodded.

He stepped back and opened his chest, revealing the glowing gold and silver mechanism inside. Vigil's energy readings immediately spiked upon the device's reveal, and his scanners overloaded as he tried to discern the properties of it.

"This is the Matrix of Leadership," Optimus intoned. "A symbolic and religious artifact of my people, it holds a portion of our progenitor, Primus's spark. It also holds the wisdom of all those who have bared it before me.

He looked at the device as best he could, then back to Vigil. He could almost make out the outline of a Prothean in the garbled mess of holographic code... And it looked bored with him. He sighed, reminded of the stage Bumblebee had gone through when he simply refused to listen to anything that came out of Optimus's mouth that wasn't a direct order.

Getting the message that Vigil desired he get to the point, he continued, "It also is a source of near infinite power. While that is not nessicarily needed, I belive that a quick succession of opening and closing it quickly enough shall release enough energy to revitalize us both.

His optics panned to his right, where a large, impressive looking vehicle sat. It was long since rusted over, but Prothean Engineering, and the fact that there had only been air in the chamber he found it in for a few centuries, meant that it had survived relatively well. "I also brought an appropriate template for my restoration process."

Vigil said nothing, but almost seemed to indicate for the Prime to proceed.

He reached up to the Matrix, but stopped just short, his servos mere inches from the rim. The old bot hesitated, a thoughtful look crossing his face. After a moment, he looked back up at the VI.

"Vigil..." He said hesitantly. "What was your purpose when you brought me back online? I have spent less than a mega-cycle with you, but I can tell you are not found of living machines. So, why restore once such as I?"

Vigil hesitated for a while before speaking, leaving an awkward silence as it did. The Prothean VI finally intoned, with a voice that almost had a hint of desperation. "I needed help."

Optimus raised an eye ridge as Vigil continued. "You are aware of my creators, the Protheans?" The mech nodded. "Fifty million stellar-cycles ago, they were wiped out by a race of machine much like yourself. However, they were much larger, and numbered in the thousands. They attacked without provocation, slaughtering organic sentient they could find, sparing only the primitives."

Optimus's widened at that.

Such a disgusting display of disregard for life repulsed the mech to the point of nearly being sick, if a mech could get sick. He clenched his servos tightly, the sparks from his damaged wired flying everywhere.

After a few moments, he calmed himself and looked back at his savior. "What does this have to do with why you brought me back online?"

"According to our findings, we were not the first race to suffer this fate. Many came before us in an endless cycle of evolution and slaughter. We were merely the last cycle. This one is next. My primary programming is to make sure the Prothean Race is avenged. Given your idealism, Optimus Prime, you seemed fitting enough to fulfill this role," he could have sworn Vigil quickly looked him up and down. "For a synthetic."

Optimus merely shook his head, looking down. He could tell Vigil wasn't lying just by looking at his programming. He was restricted from lying, and even if he could, his processors were so old that he wouldn't be able to make up any falsehoods.

"Very well," he said, closing his eyes. "If what you say is true, which I trust it is, I have no choice, but to join in the battle against these machines. What are their designations?" He looked up at Vigil, who flickered slightly with a semblance of either fear or emotional pain, both of which should have been impossible for a VI, even one of Prothean Origin.

"Reapers."

Optimus nodded, his optics narrowing with displeasure. These 'Reapers' description reminded him of Megatron's raids on nearby worlds inhabited by organic life. The warlord had slaughtered everything that moved, not even leaving Sparklings or pets behind.

As he looked up at Vigil, he bright his hand back up to the Matrix. "With all my spark..." He muttered. "I shall fight these Reapers as viciously as if every one of them were Megatron..." With that, he opened the Matrix, and a flash of light engulfed the room.

* * *

Tali stood near Shepard at the base of Mirage's foot as the Sparklings were interrogated by Jazz and Cliffjumper.

It disturbed her deeply to know they had been shooting at kids. Highly-combat effective kids, but kids nonetheless. It made a bit of sense to her now. Why the Autobots hadn't drawn their guns, or why the Sparklings had little armor and no insignias.

After surrendering, Centurion had split back into Mirage, Override and Grindor. Grindor was sitting timidly on a rock a few feet away, while Override was pouting near a dune. Mirage was the only one who seemed to be willing to speak.

The first thing he got was a slap upside the head.

"Ow!" He yelled as Jazz retracted his hand. Below him, Tali and Shepard smirked, both recognizing what was coming next. No matter what species, scolding a teen was still scolding a teen.

"What the scrap is wrong with you?!" Jazz said, aggravated and annoyed.

Mirage rubbed the back of his head, scowling. "Well-"

"Tou attacked two mature mechs with no weapons, no armor, and no plan. If we had been Decepticons, you would have been killed or enslaved," Cliffjumper interjected, and the silver mech scowled.

"What the scrap it a Deceticon?!" He questioned. "Or... An Autobot for that matter."

That took the mech back a bit. In the heat of the fight, they had forgotten they didn't know what the factions were. Jazz scowled as he out the pieces together in his head.

"Your part of the Ark's most valuable cargo, aren't you?" He said quietly. Every Cybertronian and organic turned to look at him with a confused look.

Seeing the stares, he sighed, crossing his arms and leaning on a wall of rock, shaking his head. "Cargo?" Cliff asked. "What Cargo. Didn't Prime mean the Autobots when he said that the Ark was carrying something valuable?"

Jazz grimmaced. "Well... Yes and no." He said, shaking his hand in a 'Kinda' sort of way that maid Tali smile a bit. It was quite ridiculous to see a mech so big he could compare her to a suit bug act so... Casual.

"Before Cybertron went dark, it managed to cough up about three dozen more Sparklings. As demonstrated the three Stooges here-"

"Hey!" Override yelled, knowing an insult when she heard one, even if she didn't know what a Sp'Stooge' was. Jazz only knew because he had been surfing the Extranet at lightning speeds in the past few minuets, unable to tear that part of his processor away from all the new cultures he could experience.

The fee me was ignored as the special pops officer continued. "-they were a bit more designed to fight stuff. Something about Primus sensing the war and taking measures to ensure out survival... I didn't pay much attention to that. Anyway, we put 'me in stasis pods so they wouldn' get in trouble with Megs..." He looked around at the three Soarklings. "What's the first thing you guy's remember?" He asked quietly.

"We remember being in pods," Override said venomously, still sore about loosing. "Your right. There were thirty three others when we got out... That didn't last long though." Her time had changed from pouty to sorrowful during the course of her sentances and she shut up as she looked at the ground.

The older mechs looked to Mirage for an elaboration, and the silver Sparkling sighed. "She we came online, there was a... Thing. Teletraan 1, it called itself. It gave us designs for us to scan, told us how to transform, how to speak, and so on..." He looked downcast, before continuing.

"A few months ago, a mech called Soundwave approached us **[1]**. He just, rolled up without any warning. He rolled right into our camp like he owned the place." Behind him, Grindor nodded in agreement dutifully.

"He told us to join the 'Decepticons'. He wouldn't leave or tell us what a 'Decepticon' was. After a while, he got annoyed with us refusing, and we got annoyed with him asking. When we tried to get him to leave, he..." His voice broke, and he slowed his mouth, his audio going silent as he shook his head.

A pit of dread grew in Jazz as he surmised what Mirage was going to say next. "Killed 'em all, didn' he?" Jazz asked, and the silver mech nodded. Tali's eyes widened at this. A Decepticon had murdered 33 children? Of his own kind no less?! The young Quarian didn't know weather to be enraged or terrified of this as she absorbed the new info. Mostly she was angry. 33 kids dying just because they wouldn't blindly follow.

Her eyes looked over the Sparklings with a new light of sympathy. They had watched their friends die to some 'Con much bigger than them, everything the had ever known destroyed. No wonder they had attacked when they had seen bigger bits.

Her hands began to get restless, and she began to wring them anxiously, noting Shepard's undisguised scowl as he listened to the mechs. She noticed Cliffjumper wasn't moving. The red mech's optics were wider than the serving dishes of the Normandy. Until after a few seconds, he roared in anger.

"That's it! That's it, we're extinct! We're slaggin' extinct!" He raged, his arm transforming into a Riot Cannon he had found before bailing on Cybertron. He took aim and blasted a dune into atoms, terrifying the Sparklings and shocking the Organics.

The Sparklings were suddenly very aware of how little armor and weapons they had. Subconsciously, Override and Grindor edged closer to their leader, who backed up a bit himself. Jazz glared at his partner. "We ain't dead yet, Cliff!" He yelled, before turning back to Mirage. "And as for you..." He took a few steps closer to the now warier Sparklings.

"Unfortunately kid, that's what the 'Cons do." Jazz said sadly, parting the kid on the shoulder.

Instead if it being a comforting geasture, Mirage seemed to take offense to it. He skated backwards almost angrily. His arm-blades re-appareed in a snap, and Jazz and Cliffjumper tensed, ready for another fight.

However, the blades retracted as quickly as they appeared. "And what is it that you... Autobots do? Who's to say your not worse?!"

"Smart kid," Wrex muttered next to Tali. "Knows just what questions to ask a potential enemy." The engineer found herself nodding in agreement as Jazz searched of an answer some type of evidence that would convince the Sparklings of their moral superiority.

Before that could be answered, the Autobots' coms beeped. Strangely, so did Shepard' team, though the frequency wasn't from the Normandy.

"To any Autobot within the range of this signal, I send this message..."

Everyone present, save for the Sparklings, started as they recognized the deep, gravely voice of a war-hardened soldier. More than they, they recognized the voice of Optimus Prime himself.

* * *

"Though the war for our planet is long since over, and our race is scattered, our mission is not yet done.

Back on Ilos, Optimus Prime stood near the structure Vigil had informed him was similar to this galaxy's 'Mass Relays', using it as a signal booster as he sent his starbount message-in-a-bottle out to the void.

No longer was the Autobot mech falling apart and rusting. He had a new body, similar to his one during the early day's of the war, only more slender, a bit similar to a human knight. Two large, thick wheels extended from his back and a number of exhaust pipes were on his shoulders. The Autobot symbol blazed proudly on two large pieces of shoulder armor not unlike Ironhide's. He had wheels on his forearms, and four wheels on his legs, one set of two each. His chest had the kibble of the vehicle's armored windows, his arms contained a multitude of weapons.

His blue optics stared at the relay with determination As he continued. "Our fight is no longer for freedom, but for life itself. I have learned of a threat the likes of which are unprecedented. I shall not order you to return to my service, and I cannot guarantee survival. But the galaxy needs you now."

Behind him, the flickering green image of a Prothean nodded. Vigil, not quite 'restored', but in much better condition than before. He listened as Optimus spoke, not inturrupting but observing as the Prime's speech took on a sympathetic light.

"I know you feel scattered… Tired… Alone. But an Autobot is never alone, for as long as a spark still burns in under the Autobot symbol, you have allies. Stand fast, my brothers and sisters. Stand strong… Stand together." and a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Autobots wouldn't be the only one's listening to this. He narrowed his optics, and when he spoke, his voice carried a threatening tone.

"And to anything with vile intent for the life forms in any home of an Autobot, be it Megatron, or the Reapers, leave this galaxy alone. Because I'm coming…

He put as much of a threatening tone into his last words, using every bit of intimidation his voice had.

"...For you!"

* * *

 **[1]If it is not clear, Soundwave somehow got up before all this happened, just like the Sparklings.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, a review, follow and fave would be much appreciated, and guys, I sencerily hope you have an awesome whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this.**

 **-RNC**


	4. Autobots, Decepticons

**READ HERE FOR AN EXPLANATION OF SOMETHING:**

 **Some of you might be wondering why the signal was coming from a completely different planet than Optimus was on. Here is the reason: Jazz was the one sending it out. He was semi-conscious and was using the last signal he received to call for help when he was unable to make one himself.**

 **As for background lore... It's not G1. Definetly not using any of the screwed up G1 timeline. The story is set firmly in the Aligned continuity, and even then, the only events taken into account are from War for and Fall of Cybertron. That is all.**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

 **Chapter 4: Autobots, Decpticons.**

* * *

"Reformatting commencing..." The Decepticon medic, Knockout said as he entered the required information into his equipment. The red mech was short for a Cybertronian, but his chassis was polished to perfection, from his white face to his crimson heel-strut, a fact he took great pride in. Unlike most transformers, he did not have the glowing Energon lines on his body. He had already reformatted himself into a significantly less lit-up form. He laughed nervously as he turned around. "Um, this might... Sting a bit, Lord Megatron. Just a fair waring."

In the shadows near him, the outline of his master glared at him. "I clawed my way out of the Pits themselves, Doctor. Your procedure is nothing compared to that." The mech was being honest. He had survived the agony of limbs being torn off. He had had his chassis ripped open, revealing his spark chamber. He had been stabbed, sliced, shot at, and crushed under the fist of Metroplex. Reformatting would be less than nothing to him.

His wounds had proven severe, to the point where the chassis Soundwave had designed was falling apart from both wounds in battle, and going into long-term stasis heavily damaged. Even his voice box had degraded, which was why he sounded different. Fortunately, the 'Con had managed to design multiple alternate bodies for his master, and his degraded body was being re-designed into it, though his voice box was irreparable.

Knockout nodded anxiously. He wasn't the most powerful of bots, even vehicons were better armed than him. He usually relied on his partner, Breakdown, to defend him in a firefight. This, and his inferiority to Decepticon scientists like Shockwave and Soundwave, gave him extra reasons to fear the Lord of the Decepticons.

Breakdown himself, similarly reformatted into a non-lit form, was leaning against a wall nearby, examining the scene with mild interest. They were in Knockout's lab on the Nemesis, which was now embedded in a gigantic dust dune. The lab itself was nearly untouched, and most of his equipment still laid unused on his tables, his shiny new operation table only a bit rusted from time.

Soundwave stood vigil over the operation. He had found Knockout and Breakdown hours before, half-buried in the bridge of the ship. The Communications Officer hand been midly surprised at Breakdown's new appearence. The 'Con that had once challenged him to a race during the Siege of Iacon was now a big and bulky bruiser.

Megatron grunted as the Energon tubes attached to his body began to do their work, his chassis bending and shifting as the reformatting took place. Slowly, the lights from his Energon lines dimmed as his new chassis format closed around them, dimming his image even more.

"So, boss," Breakdown said, his unusual yellow optics dim with boredom-or sleepiness, it was a little hard to tell. "Do we have a plan for... Well, anything? I mean, even if we restricted ourself to just the four of us... We ain't gonna last very long, Energon wise. And I saw plenty of Autobots a popin out of all that dust outside." He scoffed, chuckling as a thought came to him. "It's like watching those ridiculous Junkions in their trash piles..."

Megatron glared at him, his red optics the only thing currently visible form the shadows. "If I had a permanent solution for that, Breakdown, do you not think I would have already employed it, rather than joining the Autobots in their quest for energy in the stars?"

Intimidated, Breakdown backed up a bit, holding his hands up in surrender. Though he was one of the few 'Cons who could directly question his master and not be blown to bits-a privilege he had won through many a success in missions assigned to him personally by Megatron- he knew not when to push his luck. "Sorry, sorry."

The warlord glared at him, but said nothing more to the medic's assistant as he turned his attention to Soundwave. "Have you determined if the Nemesis is fit for flight yet?" He questioned simply. As impudent as he could be, Breakdown had a point, as Megatron found the brute frequently did. Without Energon, they were practically off-lined already. They had the equipment to convert it into the Dark Energon the Decepticons now relied upon for fuel and ammo, but that too was less than useless without the original substance itself. And to find it, they needed a suitable ship.

Soundwave nodded. "Rumble and Frenzy have examined the engineering decks. We have determined that they are salvageable. However, we shall require workers."

"And how is the progress on that front?"

"Laserbeak has retrieved approximately a dozen Vehicons," the communications officer continued. "Three are worker class. However, that is still insufficient to restore the Nemesis to its former capabilities."

The warlord's glare harshened, and even though it did little to Soundwave, Knockout and Breakdown edged backwards uneasily. Any sign if anger from Megatron was a bad omen for any Vehicon in bashing range, but the medic and his assistant were the closest thing to the faceless Decepticon underlings present.

"Use them all if you have to. I need this warship operational again if we are to survive," he commanded, his now scratchy and hoarse voice making his steely tone even more intimidating than it had been when he had sounded deep and booming.

Soundwave bowed slightly, dipping his head in respect. "Yes, Lord Megatron," he said simply, and turned to depart.

Pas the door opened, Knockout suddenly remembered something. "Wait," he called, and the Communications Officer turned around slightly, halting. "I was taking inventory before the procedure, and I noticed that the Cargo Bay seems to have some additional weight. Something we didn't have when we fell through the Space Bridge." The medic smirked slightly. "Find something interesting while the rest of us were still in stasis, Soundy?"

Soundwave was silent for a while, his yellow visor seemingly contemplating something. Then, he turned around fully to face the Medic, and said one chillingly simple word. Though it was monotone as ever, something about the way he said it sent a jolt of fear through Knockout's circuits.

"Affirmative."

* * *

Shepard sighed as the elevator opened to the Normandy CIC. He tugged off his helmet and held it under his arm as he walked towards the galaxy map, weariness in his limbs.

The Autobots had parted ways with his group on the planet, apparently leaving to find their comrades. Shepard had called in the Normandy to make planet fall while Shepard called the Alliance for evac ships.

That part was... Problematic.

A metal race wouldn't blend seamlessly in a society where anything metal with a mind of its own was treated as a demon, or any equivalent in the other race's religion. That and their massive size and advanced weapons technology, would complicate things to come.

He leaned against the console of the Galaxy Map with a weary sigh, shaking his head. How was he going to do this?

He looked around at the crew. While no one had yet questioned him, it was painfully obvious they all wanted to question him about what was going on. The crew was already on edge about Wrex, Garrus, Liara and Tali. And after what happened on Eden Prime with Jenkins, he doubted they had any better opinions on synthetics than they did aliens.

"Joker," he called over the intercom. "Contact Captain Anderson and Admiral Hackett. Tell them we need a few large cargo ships. There's... Quite a lot we need to transport off-planet."

"Sure thing, Commander," Joke responded over the intercom. "Now, you wanna tell me what's going on here? There are synthetic signals everywhere, and you kinda went dead on our radars for a bit."

"It's something better shown than explained," Shepard said.

"Well, you might want to show us quickly. The rest of your little superhero team nearly had be come down here ourselves to hunt you and the others down."

Shepard smirked. "Well, it's nice to see they care." The commander waited for a few minuets, trying to be patient. But patience was a challenging thing on a toxic world filled with giant robots.

Personally, he was still wary of them. After seeing the Geth impale colonists on spikes and building some kind of occult shrine to the Reapers, a Synthetics made him edgy.

At the same time, though, he could tell they meant no harm. They were a race out of their time, and banished from their home. While Megatron was without a doubt a threat, he had a hard time imagining Jazz pulling a gun on the Citadel and slaughtering the populous.

He was jarred from his thoughts when Joker reported back with an answer. "Ok, Commander, two large cargo haulers en-route. ETA is about ten hours. Plenty of time to 'show' us exactly what we are putting on that ship."

"Don't worry Joker," he said, starting to move away from the Galaxy map. You'll know soon."

He was startled to see a certain young Asari waiting behind him, looking at the human patiently. That said, she was definitely as anxious as the rest of the crew, as could be told from the way she was constantly shifting.

"Shepard," she greeted him. "I wanted to let you know that most of these synthetic signals have converged on two places. And the signals seem to differ greatly from one area to the other. And... One of the groups is quite near here."

The Autobots, Shepard assumed. Jazz had told him that their ship was not a long distance away from the place they had parted ways. "It's nothing to worry about, Liara,' he assured her.

"But Shepard-"

"Trust me, Doctor," he interrupted. "I'll explain, I just need time." She looked dissatisfied by the answer, but nodded, stepping aside so he could proceed. He looked at her. "Liara, I would never do anything to endanger the Normandy or her crew unless is was absolutely necessary. You know that."

She nodded. "Yes, it's just... It's making everyone nervous. I hope you will elaborate soon. Not many people are taking well to the possibility that they are at the point of a gun they cannot see."

"Understandable. But they're in no danger. I'd stake my life on it." With that, Shepard walked past her towards the elevator.

Liara looked from him to her data pad, that showed the geographical locations of the two signals. One cluster was colored red, and the other a sinister purple.

And the purple cluster was getting bigger with every passing second.

* * *

"RAARGH!"

The roar echoed across the land as Grimlock hauled a pice of debris out of the way with the jaws of his Beast form. The fallen chunk of roof was hurled across the room where it crashed into, and subsequently obliterated, a wall.

He was in the ruins of an Energon Depot, sniffing around for any scraps. Swoop was right outside, standing guard while Snarl and Slug were searching another part of Iacon.

His demeaning situation angered the great warrior, and heat shimmered around his triangular teeth as he pushed more loose fragments of the building out of his way.

He was grasping at straws to survive, looking for what little remained on this planet. Worse than any scraplet, lower than the most simple insecticon. He was once a member of Cybertron's military in the Golden Age, a figure of awe and pride.

Now he was licking up the droplets he could find, turned into an abomination in both mind and chassis.

That made him mad. It made him wish he hadn't dealt with Shockwave so quickly all those centuries ago. What he wouldn't give to go back and make that one-opticed freak scream and beg for mercy.

Quite frankly, the Dynobots were dying. They had gone so long without Enrgon now that they were starting to shut down, like the planet they had migrated for so long. Grimlock's sword and shield had gone dark, and the others' weapons were long-since useless.

They had tread over the many metal miles of Cybertron, consuming the last remaining deposits and scraps they could find. Any survivors they came across were either dead or on the run from the primal group.

If Iacon was dry... The Dynobots were doomed.

He took a sniff of the air, nudging one of the old rusty Energon tanks with his nose. When he found nothing, a growl rose from his throat, his optics narrowing in rage.

This was how it was going to end for him? For his brothers?! They had survived Shockwave's testing, millennium of war and isolation, the loss if Sludge, all to be brought down by Energon deficiency and left to rust like some faceless drone left unburied on the battlefield?!

Anger and grief at his apparent fate filled him to the brim, causing his Energon light lines to glow even brighter. His optics flared, and he growled, heat shimmering in front of his muzzle.

"Nothing!" He snarled. "Not one scrap. Nothing left on this whole," he ripped the tank off the wall. "Fraggin'!" He stomped on it. "Planet!" He opened his mouth and a wave of fire rushed over the tank, reducing it to a glowing red puddle. He opened his jaw and reared his massive head back, and bellowed out a blood-curdling roar that shook the building and caused debris to fall from the ceiling as he stomped onto the puddle of molten metal.

He panted for a moment, before his chassis split and shifted, spiraling around him until he was back in bipedal form, looking at his work with an enraged posture.

"Hey, Grim," Swoop called over the comm. He had probably heard his Team Leader's outburst. "You ok in there big guy?"

"I'm fine Swoop," he answered. "There's nothing here."

"Well, this would have been one of the first places sucked dry," the smallest Dynobot reasoned. "Did you really expect to find anything here?"

"No..." Grimlock answered.

"Me neither. I think... Well, I think we're finaly outta luck, Grim. Slug and Snarl got nothin' too... And Iacon's probably one of the last places on the planet we haven't searched. I don't want to be the one to say it but..."

"Yeah," Grimlock cut him off, understanding where it was going.

"For what it's worth, it was a fun ride for the most part," Swoop tried to console him. "Rusting away on a barren world may not be a good way to go... But at least we'll die with our dignity."

"Lost that a long time ago. To ins-ect-I-cons." He struggled a bit, his downgraded processor aching from the more complicated word. He growled, and made his way towards the exit, shaking his head.

"Gri-ok," a broken voice said over the comms. It was Slug, his signal heavily glitched and full of static. "Si-o's empty. We'l- ack-amp site."

Though his processor was heavily downgraded, Grimlock was far from an idiot, and could easily infer what the other Dynobot was saying. He had guessed the long-range signal would be bad, what with all the corrupted signals launched by the Decepticons and damages to the communications stations during the war.

"Roger that, Slug," he boomed.

"S-e -ou in a- it. Wait, w-t's that? Gri- we nee-" Suddenly the signal cut out completely, leaving only white noise in Grimlock's audio receptors. His optics narrowed under his visor. "Slug? Slug?!"

No answer.

"Grim," Swoop interjected from outside. "I don't like this. I saw fire from here, and I'm pretty sure I heard somethin' big movin' about in that direction."

"If it can take Slug and Snarl, it has to be tough. Go ahead and scout it out, make sure your not seen."

"On it." Grimlock stomped out of the Energon depot, looking around. He spotted the smoke from the fire Swoop was talking about a few kliks away.

With a grunt, he slammed his fist into the ground and transformed, his chassis splitting and shifting back into his Beast Mode. After bellowing a loud roar, he activated his boosters and charged forwards down the deserted streets of Iacon.

A few cycles later, Swoop reported back. However, his signal was heavily laid with static, like Slug's. He was still to far away to get a clear signal.

"Grim, your not gonna bel- is," the unclear signal crackled in his head. "It's a p- on! Wha- LAG NO! Stay aw-" suddenly there was a loud screech that he could hear it from his current position, and Swoop's audio signal vanished too.

"Swoop!?" He roared, and narrowed his optics as he charged forwards all the faster. He raced towards the site of the battle, climbing over barriers and jumping and crashing through obstacles until he found what he was looking for.

Swoop laid in bipedal form, forced into stasis, but still alive. His leader leaned down and took a sniff at his comrade's defeated form, noting the burns on his chassis and scratches in his armor.

He growled, looking around. A few feet away, laying in fresh wreckage, was Slug and Snarl. Slug was in Beast Mode, laying on his side as his Energon light lines flickered, while a bipedal Snarl sat against a fallen pillar, clutching a wound in his side.

Grimlock leaped down, shaking the ground as he landed in the pit of scrapped and molten metal, making his way towards the most timid member of his team. "What happened here," he questioned. "Is the wound fatal?"

"No, I'm fine. Shockwave built me to last, after all," Snarl said, his voice inflicted with pain. "But... It's just not possible. This kind of thing only happens in vids and shows. Not in real life."

"What?" Grimlock asked again, but Snarl only continued to ramble.

"I saw one of these things at a museum when I was a Sparkling. You know, before the war. Had it hung from the ceiling. The thing used to scare the scrap out of me... Actually, I'm not ashamed to admit, still does."

"Slag it, Snarl, what attacked you?!" Grimlock bellowed, before the Stegasaurus lifted a servo and pointed behind him.

The Tyrannosaurus twisted to see what it was, and his optics widened in surprise as a shape he had previously thought to be a hunk of scrap started to move, revealing itself to be a mech of proportions equal to his own Beast Mode.

The Mech in question was in his own beast mode. It had a long body with four relatively short legs, and a long, lethal looking tail. He had wings folded at his back, and a sharp, spiky design. The beast had a long neck, with a crown of horns, razor teeth, four wicked looking mandibles, and a pair of golden optics studying him with contempt.

And on the Beast Mode's chest was a faction symbol that was neither Autobot, nor Decepticon. It was...

"A Predacon," Grimlock growled, turning away from Snarl as the two giants studied each other, heat shimmering from their maws and dangerous sounds rumbling in both their chests.

* * *

"Hey, Commander," the voice of Jazz sounded in Shepard's ear as he entered the hanger deck of the Normandy. "How's the progress on those evac ships. Everyone here is gettin' a little tired of this dust."

"On their way Jazz," he answered. "I promise, your people will be out of here soon."

"That's good," the Autobot replied. "And sir? I've done some research. Metal things with a mind of their own ain't exactly a welcome concept around here, huh?"

"It does make some skins crawl, yeah," the human responded as he headed towards engineering. "Something wrong?"

"No. It just... It means a lot. I'll be sure Optimus knows about this, Commander. And knowing him, all you have to do is ring us up. We'll be there for 'ya."

"Good. Can you meet me in a few hours? My crew wants an explanation."

"Sure thing- OW! Ratchet! I need that arm. Got to go, Commander. I have a pain in the aft medic to- I just made it worse, didn' I?" Shepard smirked as the Autobot terminated the transmission.

He had just finished taking with most oft he crew, and only the bottom level was left unvisited. He turned the corner into engineering, saying hi to Adams. As usual, the head engineer was friendly, but didn't have much to say.

Nearby, Tali was at her usual station. She tapped away at her station, the tiny Quarian seeming a bit more fidgety than usual. Though her face was permanently masked, she was pretty expressive through her body language. She kept shifting her weight nervously, muttering and shaking her head.

He walked up quietly, then tapped her on the shoulder. "Tali?"

"Ah!" She yelped, startled, and spun around. Her glowing eyes were wide, and she released a startled breath. "Shepard. It's you. I... Didn't hear you. Sorry, I've just been... Um, how do you humans say it? Lost in my head."

"Is it the Autobots?" Shepard asked, and she nodded, groaning.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No..." She said, then seemed to think better of it, and reprised with a mournful tone. "Yes, actually." She hung her head, leaning back against the railing behind her.

"To my people, synthetics are like your demons. It's supposed to be impossible for them to be good. They are supposed to be inherently vile, metal monsters that we shoot full with as many rounds as possible," she started to explain, an unidentifiable emotion in her voice. "But the Cybertronians... They act so much like people. That helicopter, what was his name, Grindor? He reminds me of one of my friends from back home, Veetor."

"So your having a bit if a crisis of faith?" Shepard guessed, and she sighed.

"You can call it that. Aiding a synthetic is the worst sin a Quarian can commit. The closest thing our concept of those who do are your satanists. Basically associating with the worst thing possible," she sounded bitter now. He could tell she felt dirty for dong this, and ashamed of herself for mistrusting innocent people, even though she couldn't help it.

Shepard didn't like seeing his friends this way, especially Tali. She didn't deserve to degrade herself like this. Her culture had molded her views, as does everyone's. It was only natural that she would have such misgivings, and she didn't need to beat herself up over something so far out of her control.

He shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey. You woke up an ancient race that's been sleeping almost as longer than the Asari have been around. That's a good thing. Plus, you may have gained us some powerful allies against Saren. I'm betting Jazz and Cliffjumper on their own could crush quite a few Geth."

"Well, when you put it like that," she conceded, a hint of a reluctant smile in her voice. "I'm fine, Shepard. Just a bit... Confused, I guess. I'll... I'll sort it out, don't worry."

"Ok," he nodded, removing his hand. "If you need anything, just come find me."

"Got it," she nodded, before jerking her head, as if she remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Garrus wants to see you in the hanger. He told me to send you over if you came around."

"I'll head over there," Shepard, turned to leave. The Quarian nodded, and returned to her work. The commander turned, and smiled when he saw her a bit calmer than before, a bit of the usual contentment in her posture.

* * *

"RRAAARGH!"

"SKREEEEEEEEEE!"

Dynobot and Predacon rushed at each other, the ground shaking with the force of their assault.

Grimlock drew first Energon, ducking under the Predacon's bite and delivering one of his own to the creatures long-and venerable-neck. He closed his jaws down on the Predacon, and locked the mechanisms in his mouth to keep it that way.

The Predacon shrieked in pain and rage, and began shaking, though it was an effort in futility against the heavier and sturdier Grimlock. It roared in rage again, and its wings snapped open.

They were large, very large. Bigger than Grimlock expected as the Predacon attempted to lift off, weighed down by the Dynobot. He wasn't going to let this glitch go. He had hurt his brothers, and this beast was going to pay!

Suddenly something moved in the corner of his optic. He realized what it was a micro-cycle too late.

It was the tail of the Predacon. The spiky, claw-ended appendage tore into Grimlock's torso. The Tyrannosaurus grunted, but did not release his bite on the neck of his enemy.

His throat filled with fire, which he blasted into the enemy's neck. They both plummeted back to Cybertron, crashing into the ground with such force it shook the metal around them.

The force of the impact finally jarred Grimlock off of the Predacon's neck, and he fell a few feet away from it. The Predacon got up, Energon leaking from the bite wound on its neck. The beast hissed venomously, it's mandibles flexing at him.

"I'm just getting warmed up," the Dynobot snarled, stomping for the intent of intimidation. He lowered himself into an attack stance, diminutive front claws splayed and teeth bared.

The Predacon growled menacingly, golden optics studying him. The wings snapped back into its spine, and it arched its neck. A red and yellow glow rose from its chest to its mouth, and Grimlock realized what it was a second too late.

He flinched as a beam of fire, much more concentrated than his own, flew towards him. The beam exploded on contact, blinding him and leaving scorches on his chassis. He blinked his optics, trying to clear them of the blaze.

When the fire stopped, he saw the beast heading right at him with a savage bellow. The monster leaped and landed on top of Grimlock. It raised a paw and tore into the Dynobot's side.

He stumbled, shaking himself in an attempt to rid himself of the unwanted burden. However the adversary held tight. Grimlock twisted and grabbed the beasts legs in his jaws, and tossed him aside.

Pit landed on its feet and roared again, but the Dynobot head butted it with a loud yell of, "Shut up!" Before turning and smacking the other Beast Mode with his heavy tail. The Predacon reeled from the blow, and was unprepared when Grimlock rushed again.

Once again, he ducked under the bite of the primordial beast, but this time he put his full weight under the creatures legs, using his momentum to turn the movement into a devestating throw that hurled the beast back a few feet, landing it on its side.

It struggled to get back on its feet, but had no time before Grimlock was upon it once more. He lunged down to bite the Predacon in the chest. He shook it around in the air a few times, before he slammed it back down and planted a massive clawed foot onto the beast's neck.

He panted a bit, noticing the Energon leaking from the Predacon's chassis as he bent down and shoved his maw close to the Predacon's. "Your finished," he snarled, heat shimmering between his teeth.

He heard a sound that he thought was the beast whining, until it dawned at him that the noise was coming from behind him. The Dynobot turned with a grunt of confusion as he heard the sound of a heavy bast going off.

A powerful Energon blast hit him square in the face, sending him flying off the Predacon. He groaned in confusion as his optics flickered. He heard heavy footsteps approaching, until a familiar figure was in view.

There was no way. It was not possible. Sure, the Decepticon in front of him was much bulkier than he remembered, and was devoid of a left arm, replaced by a massive cannon, but there was no other Mech that that that one ominous optic.

"I know what you are thinking," Shockwave said, raising the gun to aim once more at Grimlock's face. "My survival is most illogical." The barrel glowed, and the mech tilted his head, as if scowling. "You were incorrect."

BAM!

* * *

Shepard strolled into the Normandy's hanger, but stumbled when he did.

Of all the things he expected, this wasn't one of them. The Mako was back in the hanger once more, but obviously it was far beyond saving. The roof was a twisted wreck, blown open by some massive blast. The rest of the betel was blackened, and the exposed inner workings were fried.

A few feet away, Garrus was looking at the totaled vehicle forlornly. Though he was physically incapable of changing his facial expression, the Turian's face still somehow managed to scream, _I spent all this time working on this peace of junk only for this to happen?!_

"What... Happened to it?" He looked at Garrus, raising an eyebrow.

"Megatron... I think." Garrus responded. "I mean, it's about the only thing I can think of. The bastard must have hit it by accident after Jazz hauled us out of there. Wrex brought it back a few minuets ago, had to drag it back here. The thing's useless now."

Shepard nodded. "Is this what you told Tali to send me to you for?"

Garrus shook his head. "No. I wanted to talk to you about the Autobots."

Shepard looked at him apprehensively. While the others had made their reactions and opinions of the Cybertronians clear. However, Garrus seemed to have taken a neutral stance on them. However, the Turian was clearly about to share his thoughts on the newcomers.

"What about them?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Garrus looked apprehensive, shifting. "It's a bit... Erm, well, this is huge, Shepard. Especially with the Geth going around. I think... Well, right now, it would be a bad idea to introduce them to the public."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked neutrally.

"Look, Geth are killer robots with weapons of mass destruction, and they are the size of the average sapient species. The Cybertronians... I think the fact that one of us would be able to fit in Grindor's chopper mode proves my point well enough, considering he's the tiniest one there."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Now, I know that they're not like the Geth," Garrus continued. "But put say, Cliffjumper, on the Extranet, and it will be chaos. People will... How do you humans say it? Oh right, loose their shit over this. Some people will want to kill us, or kill all of them, Factions be damned. I just want to know if you have this handled."

The commander was a bit nervous. Truth be told, he didn't really have a plan for this. While he knew that Anderson and Hackett had his back the permanently antagonistic Council would have a field day with this, something that he didn't really need at the moment.

"We'll figure it out, Garrus," he assured his Turian friend. "For now, the main focus is getting them out of here. At the very least, the five we've already met deserve to leave. And if the other Autobots are anything like them, they do too."

"I guess. I just... I hope you know what your getting us into, Shepard. I'm putting a lot of trust in you."

"Understood." After a second, he asked. "What's your opinion on them?"

"Personally?" Garrus responded. "I don't know. Some of them-like that Override girl, or Cliffjumper... They remind me of Wrex. Brash, violent and headstrong. Override and her brother already proved they are willing to attack on sight, and Cliffjumepr seems to have a hair-trigger temper."

He shifted, then rolled his hands in a 'to be fair' gesture. "Then again, they all seem to listen to Jazz. And he seems to be pretty level-headed. I guess I'm on the fence about all of this."

Shepard nodded understandingly. "I can understand that." Then he looked around. "I should go."

Garrus nodded, and turned back to the Mako, shaking his head at the sight.

Suddenly Joker's voice blared over the loudspeaker. "Commander, we have a problem. Multiple transports are en-route to the Normandy. Land based, all traveling fast. Is synthetics, but it's not the Geth. I'm prepping for eva-"

"Negitive Joker, don't take off," he commanded, cutting the pilot off. "Tell everyone to get their armor on and meet me in the hanger. It's time I explained things."

"Seriously, Commander?" He asked.

"Yes. Just trust me. We aren't in any danger. Not from these signals." He took the silence that followed as acceptance of the order. He swallows and turned to Garrus. "Looks like were about to see if your right. I just hope the crew can trust me."

* * *

Megatron's reformatting had gone very well, if he did say so himself.

He was larger than he had been before, with a more compact chassis. He was now almost uniformly gunmetal grey, with a large purple Decpeticon insignia in the center if his chest. His servos now had intimidating claws, and his optics had turned bright red. He had large spiked shoulder armor, and a compact fusion cannon on his left arm.

But the nose significant advancement was his conversion into a flyer. One were the days of his slow-moving tank form. Knockout had granted him an air-based vehicle mode, one of the most durable and agile aircraft designed by Decepticon scientists. The red medic had certainly earned his place in Megatron's inner circle for the time being.

At that moment, though, he had been summoned by Soundwave. He advanced as the elevator of the Nemesis opened into the cargo bay. The massive chamber was dark, the only light coming from Soundwave a few feet in front of him.

The Decepticon Communication Officer emitted a purple light around him, looking regretful. That was a new concept. A regretful Soundwave. He mech that had slaughtered droves of mechs and femmes, stayed by his side since the Pits of Kaon, had finally found something he was ashamed of.

"Lord Megatron." He greeted him simply without turning.

"Soundwave," he returned, nodding. "Why have you summoned me here?"

The smaller con turned to look at his master, folding his servos behind his back. "I am certain Knockout has informed you that I awoke some time before you did."

"I am aware," Megatron confirmed.

"I was re activated by tectonic shifts threatening my chassis, and putting my systems into emergency mode. I was able to save myself in time, but I was far away from any of our allies.

I spent most of my time since coming back online tracking the Nemesis. Instead, I found something of much greater interest." He looked down again. "I came across an Autobot Teletraan 1 terminal. In it was valuable data. In the final hours, Primus generated 36 Sparklings in an attempt to ensure our race would survive to see his re-awakening. The Autobots recovered them before we could discover them, and his them in stasis http right the course of the war. They were aboard the Ark when we left Cybertron, and had also reactivated prematurely by similar natural occurrences, as well as their stasis pods loosing power."

Megatron grinned at the news, putting his servo on his oldest companion's shoulder. "So, we now possess 36 troops sired by Primus himself?! Excellent work, Soundwave," he congratulated.

The smaller mech seemed to grimace at that. "Negative, Lord Megatron," he denied. "The Sparklings already had Autobot personality matrices programmed into their processors. When I attempted to recruit them, they initiated hostilities. In order to avoid deactivation, I was forced to respond in kind."

Megatron scowled, and tightened his grip on Soundwave's shoulder. "So, you slaughtered them?"

"I did what was required. However, the most powerful three survived my assault. Their designations are, Mirage, Override, and Grindor," he lifted his arm, and a hologram displaying the three appeared. "They have an attribute much like Nexus Prime. They are natural combiners, and form a gestalt called, Centurion." The holograms shifted to combine, much like their real counterparts.

"And now you have firmly assured their allegence to the enemy?!" Megatron snapped. "Centrion would have been a valuable asset after the loss of Trypticon's battle mode, and with Bruticus's status unknown. Instead you handed the power of a gestalt to Optimus?!"

The Decepticon Communications offeicer stayed calm throughout his leaders berating.

"Negative," he shook his head. "I did not kill the Sparklings." Suddenly, the lights activated in the cargo hold, revealing what was inside. As each row was lit up, more and more pods were revealed, until the unconscious forms of 33 Sparklings in stasis pods could be seen.

"The components of Centurion are not fully aware of our body functions. They do not know about Stasis. However, once they find their comrades alive..."

"They will do anything to keep them that way," Megatron caught on, a smirk forming on his face as he looked down at their young prisoners. "Including trading in their Autobot insignias for a trio of fresh Decepticon shields." He grinned, showing off his new sharp teeth as he began to chuckle in amusement.

* * *

The crew of the Normandy was gathered outside, their armor and helmets protecting them from the less-than-hospitable environment of the planet.

Shepard stood in front of them, looking around nervously.

The wreck of the Mako had been disposed of a few meters away, tossed uncannily out of the Hangar by Wrex, who had done it with utter glee after all the times Shepard had made him sick aboard the damn thing.

He searched around for any sign of the Autobots, but there was nothing yet. He looked at the people in front of them. The members of the team that had been on the ground with him, Tali, Wrex and Garrus, took up the back, looking apprehensive.

He could see the faces he had grown close to in the crowd. Ashely, Kaiden, Liara, Pressly. Even Joker had been wheeled out on his chair in an environment suit, waiting to see what exactly they were having the Alliance transport off-world.

He took a deep breath, and began speaking. "We've been through a lot. Therum, Feros... Noveria. Much more. You know what our mission has been. To stop Saren and the Geth. To save the Galaxy from... Whatever they are doing."

"However, this is where we _change_ the galaxy. On this planet, we have discovered something that could change everything. It will effect the galaxy just as heavily as when we appeared on the scene." He paused to think. "It could actually affect society more."

"What we found here, we could end this case once and for all. But more importantly, we would be saving an entire species. I know most of you have had issues with aliens in the past, and some still do. However, for those of you who have grown past this, I hope you still keep an open mind about non-humans."

Suddenly he heard the sound of approaching engines. His heart pounded in his ears, and he swallowed. This was it. This was the moment of truth. He felt slightly intimidated by what he was about to do.

He looked around, and saw Tali at the back. She nodded at him reassuringly, as if to tell him that she had his back. Garrus did the same, and Wrex sneered at him in a way that made Shepard think the Krogan was telling him to grow a spine.

"And about synthetics too." He said as several vehicles came into view.

The Autobots approached their new potential allies. They numbered as five, all approaching in a single-file line, their degraded chastises still gleaming in the sunlight. Taking up the front was Jazz, and the screeched to a halt in front of the group, casuing them to stumble backwards as they made a semi-cirlce as round the Normandy crew.

As one, they began to transform, going from ordinary vehicles to several well known Autobots. The towered above the Normandy crew with closing optics and indimidate ing forms, looking like mythological titans as their chassises made the final few adjustments to the their bipedal forms.

Now gathered around the Normandy were Jazz, Ironhide, Cliffjumper, Ratchet and Bumblebee. "Normandy crew," Shepard said, turning to once again address the people who had served under him for just under a year now. "Meet the Autobots."


End file.
